Mike Brown waited everyone out.
For decades, he stood behind the counter of his mom-and-pop football team and smiled at his friendly customers that often complained loudly to him about his product. “If we stick to our way of doing things,” he would say wiping off his empty trophy cases, “we will come out on top in the end.
And while still a few feet from the true apex, for now, he’s right.
Joe Burrow happened along to the team like Luke Skywalker from Tatooine. There have been capable quarterbacks in much of the Cincinnati Bengals’ past, but not one like this, at least not in my lifetime.