'Quarterback' Ep 7 Review: Burrow Leads Bengals to Big Win vs. Denver, Gets Battered by Steelers, Hometown Friends

CINCINNATI – Episode 7 marks the finale of Season 2 of Netflix’s “Quarterback,” and it’s the show in the series that does not begin with a focus on Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Instead, the final episode dives into the benching of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.

But there is still a lot of Burrow in the episode.

Titled “Final Snap,” Episode 7 spends the first 6 1/2 minutes on the Falcons’ decision to bench Cousins in favor of rookie Michael Penix before shifting to Cincinnati and a shot of Burrow walking in to practice and wishing members of social media team a ‘Merry Christmas.’

We learn than Burrow isn’t a fan of boats.

“You’re committed,” he says. “You there for hours. I like boats for 45 minutes, but after that, ‘Ok, I’ve seen it all. We’re on the water. I get it.’”

That rolls into Burrow talking to wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase about iguanas at practice.

Football players don’t fear a lot of things, but Higgins and Chase make it clear where they stand on iguanas after Burrow tells them of an island in Turks and Caicos is full of them and people can’t build anything there.

The exchange that follows is funny.

Higgins: “I’d be scared to go to that bitch.”

Chase: “F--k no. I ain’t doing that s--t.”

Higgins: “Iguanas, bro? They big?”

Chase: “The ones on poles?”

Burrow: “No, I believe those are frilled necked lizards.”

Chase: “They got venom in?”

Burrow: “Yeah, you want to stay away from those.”

In a more poignant conversation that will leave Bengals fans disappointed all over again, Burrow tells third-string quarterback Logan Woodside, “The season’s about over, and I feel like I’m just getting started.”

That rolls into coverage of the Week 17 Saturday night game against the Denver Broncos, the only team the Bengals can catch in the playoff race.

We find out Burrow has invited his high school friends to his suite for the game, and there are lots of shots of them celebrating in what was one of the most entertaining games of the season.

Burrow also explains why he did the Griddy after his touchdown run, saying when he got up no one was around him to celebrate with, so he tried to think of something to do in a hurry.

The suite loves it.

“Joe Griddy,” one friend says.

We also get some foreshadowing with Burrow talking about how important Higgins in, not just in reference to his 131-yard, three-touchdown game against Denver, but as a whole.

Burrow admits he was dialed in on Higgins on the game-winning drive.

“That was a Tee game,” he says. “So I’m looking for Tee.”

After the game-winning touchdown, tight end Mike Gesicki runs up to Burrow and yells, “ice in f—king veins, bro.”

Burrow then does the vein point, and Netflix shows a side-by-side shot of that and the time he did it at LSU in the national championship game.

As was the case in Episode 6v, we see Burrow jogging off the field to “M-V-P” chants.

The segment ends with head coach Zac Taylor’s news conference where he calls Burrow “the best player on the planet” before a switch to Burrow joining friends and family in the suite, where his buddies roast him about his outfit.

It’s a 10-minute segment.

That’s followed by 2 1/2 minutes on Detroit’s Jared Goff and eight more on Cousins before the show goes back to Burrow ahead of the Week 18 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

There’s a presser where Burrow is asked about the “M-V-P” chants and he says he’ll win it one day.

During the highlights against the Steelers, there is a shot of Pittsburgh edge rusher T.J. Watt hitting Burrow after he throws but holding him up so he doesn’t go to the ground.

“Thanks,” Burrow says.

That turns into a montage of the hits he took in that game, culminating in the big one in which we hear Burrow groaning in pain after having his head driven into the ground.

Burrow says he felt a crunch in his neck and jaw, and he thought he broke his neck.

Eventually he hops up and walks off, guessing that “the crunch I felt might have been my jaw getting smashed into my face.”

The game coverage ends with Burrow rooting on defensive end Trey Hendrickson on the Steelers final drive, saying “C’mon, Trey. Where you at?”

The scene shifts to Burrow’s house as eating a sandwich and watching the Sunday games hoping for the outcomes that will get the Bengals into the playoffs.

A producer asks how it feels to be in that position.

Burrow chuckles to himself and says, “I mean, not great. But there’s nothing I can do about it. All I can do is sit here and watch.”

But when Denver goes up 14-0 on the Kansas City backups, he knows it’s over.

“It’s tough to win a game without your starters,” he says.

The segment ends with Burrow reflecting on the season.

“I made some pretty cool plays, I thought. Stats are great, but they don’t mean a ton. It’s the offseason, which in some ways is a relief but also frustrating. It’s a weight off your shoulders. I’ve had a lot of not healthy offseasons.”

After a segment on the top-seeded Lions losing their first playoff game and Cousins reflecting on his season, the show switches to the Pro Bowl with Burrow and Goff.

We see Randy Moss introduce Burrow as the Comeback Player of the Year.

“You only get that award if the season before didn’t go the way you wanted it to go,” Burrow said. “I don’t want to be up for it again. If I am up for it again, I’m gonna win it.”

There’s a montage of frustrations and celebrations for all three quarterbacks and the series ends with Goff and his wife at an ultrasound appointment for their first child.

The final count for the season is 109 minutes for Burrow, 95 for Goff and 93 for Cousins.