The Super Bowl is just days away with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles preparing to battle each other in the final game of the NFL season. Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford have received plenty of attention in the build-up to Sunday’s highly anticipated matchup as they both had similar beginnings to their careers.
Both Burrow and Stafford were No. 1 overall picks to teams that are considered to be bottom-of-the-barrel franchises. While Stafford was unable to lead the Detroit Lions to a Super Bowl during his tenure with his previous organization, Burrow has helped lead the Bengals from the depths of despair.
Despite Burrow and Stafford being two vastly different signal-callers, they both excelled when they had more time to throw the ball this season.
When throwing in rhythm — which Next Gen Stats considers having 2.5-4 seconds to throw — Burrow and Stafford were the top two quarterbacks in yards per attempt. Neither of the quarterbacks in the Super Bowl is afraid to push the ball down the field when they have time to step into their throws, especially with the weapons they have at their disposal.
Pass protection will be crucial in #SBLVI — Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow led the NFL in YPA when throwing in rhythm.
However, Stafford was sacked at less than half the rate as Burrow when in rhythm and generated more than twice the EPA/dropback (+0.46; Burrow: +0.19). pic.twitter.com/zM4D5pDIig
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) February 8, 2022
Stafford has Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr., and Van Jefferson to target while Burrow has Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. There is no shortage of star talent in the Super Bowl this season.
However, when talking about the EPA per dropback in rhythm, Stafford edged out Burrow due to the second-year quarterback being sacked at double the rate as the veteran quarterback of the Rams. The advantage that the Rams have in the trenches on both sides of the ball has been a massive talking point leading up to Super Bowl 56.
Given the magnitude of this game, there are going to be plenty of deep throws from both Stafford and Burrow. The outcome of the game could be decided by which quarterback is able to have more time to throw the ball, which seemingly favors Stafford — at least on paper.