Tua Tagovailoa, Joe Burrow set for rematch in battle of NFL's high-powered offenses
The 2019 NFL season began with the league's worst teams operating with the mantra of tank for Tua and ended with those same teams pivoting to blow it for Burrow.
During the fall of 2019, the college football world and NFL scouts were taken by surprise by then-LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow's rise from proverbially unknown to Heisman Trophy-winning, record-setting, cigar-smoking national champion. In many ways, his 2019 was what everyone expected out of Tua Tagovailoa heading into that same season as he led the Alabama Crimson Tide following a 14-1 sophomore campaign.
The quarterbacks met that season in a much-hyped contest as two of the top-ranked teams in the AP poll, with Burrow and the Tigers outdueling Tagovailoa and the Crimson Tide, 46-41. This Thursday will mark the two quarterbacks' first meeting since that game on Nov. 9, 2019. While a lot has changed since then, each signal-caller's status as a premier quarterback has not.
Burrow led the Bengals (1-2) to their first AFC championship since 1989 a season ago, while Tagovailoa has the football world buzzing following the Dolphins' first 3-0 start since 2018 and has fans dreaming of the team making its first Super Bowl appearance since 1984.
And if their last game against each other is any indication, the two will put on a show Thursday night. In that 2019 game, Burrow was 31-of-39 for 393 yards and three touchdowns, while Tagovailoa was 21-of-40 for 418 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
Both quarterbacks are engineering top-10 passing attacks this season, with Burrow and the Bengals at 10th in total passing yards at 270.7 yards per game, while Tagovailoa and the Dolphins sit in second place with 308.3 yards per game through the air. (Although Tagovailoa's status for Thursday is up in the air, the QB says he plans on playing.)
As 2019 began, Tagovailoa was entering what was supposed to be his coronation, yet Burrow swept in and took the national title and first overall pick from under his wing. This Thursday, Tagovailoa can begin the process of reclaiming his crown.
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