Joe Burrow says he doesn’t want to labeled an underdog, but it’s been a long time since a team came back from nothing this quickly.
At the college football level, a small number of coaches control so much of the power that the idea of a Cinderella postseason tournament run is not only unrealistic, it’s essentially blocked out of the rule book like some kind of Nick Saban–led political redistricting.
In the NFL, a relatively small number of coaches and general managers are so much smarter than everyone else, running a timely offense that gouges the weaknesses of whatever en vogue defense is spread around the league at the moment.