Truncated offseason, no preseason, empty stadium. First NFL game, down by 3 points, no timeouts, 2 minutes on the clock. We knew from the very first game, but this isn't considered a "game-winning drive"

Somehow, we ended up in a shootout with Cleveland in week 6. The Bengals need a TD with just under 5 minutes to go. You want to score and leave as little time remaining as you can. Rookie Joe Burrow leads the drive successfully, but this isn't a "game winning drive" because the defense couldn't stop anything on that day.

2 wins and 1 tie in the 9 games he finished his rookie season. 0 Game Winning Drives though. So we move onto 2021. The Bengals are 3-1 with a "game winning drive" to win the opener. The Bengals need a TD and 2-Point conversion to tie it up. They then need a field goal to win and both kickers have a meltdown until somebody makes one and it wasn't the Bengals kicker. So no "game winning drive" again for Burrow.

Week 14, 2021 Bengals are down 14 to the 49ers and we start this clip with a do-or-die 4th down. Burrow then needs a drive to tie it up at the end. That drive starts with a sack and puts him in the shadow of his own end zone. In Overtime, Burrow drives the Bengals into scoring position and after the big Uzomah catch, Cincinnati runs it twice to set up 3rd down. Burrow gets sacked and the defense can't hold up. Not a "game winning drive". Not clutch.

Let's kickoff 2022. Teams that lose the super bowl don't typically have successful follow-up seasons and Joe Burrow had his appendix burst a couple of weeks before the opener. Still, they're down 6 and Burrow throws 5 touchdowns and only the last one counts. Just gotta make the XP with a backup TE snapping the ball because the LS got hurt.

The very next week. Burrow and the Bengals offense is slow as he recovers. Still, they're down by 8 and need to score late in the 4th quarter. It'll take a 4th down conversion, a touchdown and 2-point conversion. But because they can't take the lead and ultimately lose the game, this can't be considered a "game winning drive" and Burrow isn't clutch.

They're not all crazy. Sometimes you drive down the field, burn 7 minutes and take the lead with a TD and the other team has an elite QB. So, by definition, this isn't a "game winning drive"

This isn't a "game winning drive" because the Bengals are already leading, but you cannot give the ball back to KC in this scenario. You need the QB to drive for 3 minutes. That includes taking a smart sack to get to the 2-minute warning and throwing a DAGGER to end the game. A game winning drive that wasn't a "game winning drive"

Now we're in 2023 and you find yourself in a shootout with a surprise team. The defense makes a stop, you get the ball and deliver the touchdown pass, but it's dropped by your trusty slot. Not a "game winning drive"

And there are other examples. We know what happened in 2024 also. He also has 9 other "game winning drives" in his career. Does this mean he's perfect? Of course not. There are times where the offense and Burrow have failed when they needed a drive. And because this franchise attempts to win with the smallest margins for error, Burrow needs to be Superman for them. The numbers and made up stats can say whatever they want to say, but the truth is that EVERYBODY in the stadium, Bengals and Opponents, thinks that Burrow will lead the team when the situation calls for it.

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final drive vs chiefs in '22 regular season won't count either