It took Joe Burrow being draft two years ago for the Cincinnati Bengals to finally win a playoff game after 30+ years, but it really should’ve happened in 2016 when the Bengals had a game won against the Steelers until hell broke loose.
Adam Pacman Jones spent eight seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, playing alongside current Chicago Bears quarterback Andy Dalton in seven of them. In an interview on CBS Sports Radio’s The Zach Gelb Show, Jones discussed the Bengals’ first trip to the Super Bowl since 1988, which made him ponder how different things could’ve been if he had a quarterback like Joe Burrow as opposed to Dalton.
“If you look at the teams that make runs in the postseason, it all starts with the quarterback,” Jones explained. “A lot of these teams have really good quarterbacks. Really good guys who play hard, love football, don’t worry about a lot of other things.”
“If it was anything with the teams I was on, I would start with the quarterback…” Pacman continued. “I don’t want to make the conversation about me saying [Andy Dalton] wasn’t good enough. But if you go back and look at the film, it speaks for itself. You look at the numbers. The game that we should’ve won, I think A.J. [McCarron] played.”
“[Burrow is] the real deal,” Jones added. “… He’s what I would’ve loved to have as a quarterback… He’s exciting to see. I love his hunger, the way he plays … Maybe we’d have two [Super Bowl rings with Burrow].”
Dalton threw for 873 yards, one touchdown and six interceptions in his four playoff appearances with the Bengals.
In five playoff appearances under Marvin Lewis, the Bengals never won a postseason game. Now two years into the Joe Burrow-era, Cincinnati has defeated the Raiders at home, the Titans on the road, and the Chiefs on the road.
Burrow, of course, is taking the Bengals to the Super Bowl in just his second season, while Dalton went 0-4 in the postseason during his time in Cincy.
