Joe Burrow's Tale Just Beginning With Unexpected Super Bowl Run

In between his very few hours of downtime between media obligations and preparation for the Super Bowl, Joe Burrow sat down and watched the hour long documentary "A Football Life: Kurt Warner."

Much like Burrow's journey, Warner was a forgotten quarterback in the late 1990's before latching on with the St. Louis Rams, where he'd very quickly win a Super Bowl in 2000 with the Rams. The success was short lived as the Rams would lose a Super Bowl a few years later, something Burrow couldn't help but think about after the Cincinnati Bengals fell short to the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 on Sunday.

Burrow, who has always been the ultimate competitor who rarely takes solace in a loss, instantly made the point of celebrating what his team accomplished.

"I watched the Football Life of Kurt Warner last week and I kind of thought about this in the locker room," Burrow said. "They lost one and later in the documentary, they let it sting too much that they didn't celebrate what they accomplished. It stings but we had a great year and I think we have something to celebrate."

After posting a total of six wins in the previous two seasons, Burrow helped lead the Bengals franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance in over 30 years with a 10 win season and three highly competitive playoff wins. To throw for over 4,000 yards and 34 touchdowns just nine months removed from a devastating knee injury only added to a truly unforgettable and frankly legendary sophomore campaign.

Burrow did the best he could Sunday facing an elite defensive front in the Rams, throwing for 263 yards and a touchdown in the narrow loss. There were missed opportunities and a scary knee injury late in the game but ultimately it was a game that came down to a final drive and for the first time since arriving at LSU, Burrow came up short in a postseason effort.

It's a loss that Burrow said after the game will not only fuel him but the entire Bengals organization moving forward.

"We had a really good year. This game didn't turn out the way we wanted to but I'm still gonna celebrate with the guys and reminisce on the season that we had," Burrow said. "We're gonna work really hard to get back to this moment and finish on top like we wanted to.

"I think it's gonna propel us in to next year, we're gonna have a really good offseason. I know a lot of hard workers in that locker room who are gonna attack this offseason like they did last year. We're not satisfied but we're gonna attack next year with the same intensity."

This is a game that is hard to get back to as history alludes. Drew Brees and the Saints probably thought back in 2010 it wouldn't be the last time they got to participate in the big game. But this is certainly a Bengals team that at its core feels built for the long haul.

A young roster, retooling the offensive line and some other key defensive help in the secondary and this could very well be a force to be reckoned with in the NFL moving forward.

"We're a young team. I'd like to think we'll be back in this situation multiple times over the course of the next few years," Burrow said. "We take this, let it fuel us for the rest of our careers."