‘It Reminds Me of Dan Marino’ — NFL Pundit Compares Joe Burrow to Dolphins Legend After Bengals QB’s Bold Comments
Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals have an interesting situation on their hands heading into the 2026 season. They are the only team in the AFC North with the same head coach as last season, which technically makes them the only team with an established structure, and Burrow is very optimistic about their outlook.
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There’s much to be said for Burrow’s foray into the pros so far. The 2020 first overall pick has turned out to be a very effective franchise quarterback; however, top-end success has evaded him thus far. Heading into his seventh season in the NFL, the signal-caller has only been to the playoffs twice.
This season, nonetheless, is expected to be a different story, at least in Burrow’s eyes, as the quarterback has expressed plenty of optimism about the campaign ahead.
“We’re going to go win a lot of games this year and play great and win a Super Bowl,” he said.
Michael Wilbon appeared on ESPN’s “Get Up,” where he tamed viewers’ expectations for Cincinnati this season.
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“I don’t know that I’m listening to Joe Burrow proclaim how great they are, as in, oh, I’m gonna put them above Buffalo in the AFC? No,” he said. “Am I gonna put them above Baltimore in their own division? No. Above New England? No. I don’t [even] know if I have them above the Chargers. So there’s a long way to go in this proclamation. It sounds nice.”
Burrow is far from a bust, but there seems to be a pattern in the organization of star players making one memorable run to the Super Bowl in their tenure and nothing more. Burrow and the 2021 Bengals, with a 78.7 PFSN Offense Impact score, faced the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl and lost 23-20.
Other NFL legends like Dan Marino, Ken Anderson, and Boomer Esiason have also never won a Super Bowl.
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“He reminds me of Dan Marino, who had some great seasons, and there was a lot of talent, and he got there once,” Wilbon said. “Joe Burrow’s been [to the Super Bowl] once, like [how] Ken Anderson in Cincinnati went once, like, Boomer Esiason in Cincinnati went once. There’s no history of the Bengals being so loaded that we’re gonna make them favorites, even in their own division. I don’t see it.”
With the other head coaches in the AFC North still establishing themselves, Burrow and his team will have to move quickly if they want to capitalize on new regimes in the division.
