2021 Cincinnati Bengals

• QBJoe Burrow
• RBJoe Mixon
• WRJa'Marr Chase
• WRTee Higgins
• TEC.J. Uzomah

You remember when Cincinnati's future arrived years ahead of schedule. The Bengals had won four games the year before, and Joe Burrow's rookie season had ended with a devastating knee injury. Cincinnati used the fifth pick on his old LSU teammate Ja'Marr Chase, choosing another weapon instead of the offensive lineman everyone expected. Nobody was talking about a Super Bowl. The Bengals were supposed to be young, exciting, and maybe a year or two away. Then Burrow came back, Chase started running past everyone, and suddenly waiting felt unnecessary.

Everything started with Joe Burrow. Burrow played with the kind of confidence that made every big moment feel smaller. Chase immediately recreated the connection they had at LSU, Tee Higgins gave Cincinnati another matchup nightmare, Tyler Boyd remained dependable underneath, and Joe Mixon gave the offense balance. Trey Hendrickson transformed the pass rush, Jessie Bates III held together the secondary, and rookie kicker Evan McPherson somehow looked as calm as his quarterback. The Bengals were young enough that they weren't supposed to know how difficult any of this was.

Cincinnati finished 10-7 and won the AFC North. Burrow threw for a franchise-record 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns while winning Comeback Player of the Year. Chase finished with 1,455 yards and won Offensive Rookie of the Year. But December was when everything changed. Burrow threw for 525 yards against Baltimore. One week later, Chase went for 266 yards and three touchdowns against Kansas City as Cincinnati won 34-31 and clinched the division. This wasn't just a promising young team anymore.

The playoffs became one long exercise in realizing the Bengals might actually do this. Cincinnati beat Las Vegas 26-19 for its first playoff victory in 31 years. Then Burrow went to Tennessee against the AFC's top seed and got sacked nine times. Somehow, it still didn't matter. Burrow found Chase late, and McPherson walked onto the field for a 52-yard attempt already telling teammates they were going to the AFC Championship Game. He drilled it as time expired. Nineteen to sixteen. Money Mac hadn't missed all postseason, and Cincinnati's impossible run kept going.

Then they went into Arrowhead and refused to leave. Kansas City raced out to a 21-3 lead and looked ready to end the story before halftime. Instead, Samaje Perine broke a screen for a touchdown, the defense kept Mahomes from adding another score before the break, and Cincinnati slowly pulled the game back. Burrow escaped Chris Jones twice on one third down and scrambled for the first. Jessie Bates tipped Mahomes' overtime pass into Vonn Bell's hands. McPherson came back onto the field and did what everyone already expected him to do. Twenty-seven to twenty-four. The Bengals had beaten the AFC's top two seeds on the road and were going to the Super Bowl.

One game remained. Cincinnati trailed the Rams 13-10 at halftime before Higgins opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown and the Bengals suddenly led 17-13. But Los Angeles' pass rush kept getting closer. Seven sacks. Then Matthew Stafford found Cooper Kupp for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:25 left. Burrow got one final possession and moved Cincinnati near midfield. Aaron Donald stopped Samaje Perine on third-and-one. On fourth down, Chase broke open downfield, but Donald reached Burrow before he could get the ball there. The desperate pass fell incomplete. Twenty-three to twenty.

That's how people remember the 2021 Bengals. They remember Burrow coming back from the knee injury with a different kind of swagger, Chase hitting the Griddy after another deep touchdown, and Money Mac walking onto the field like missing wasn't an option. They remember ending 31 years of playoff frustration, surviving nine sacks in Tennessee, and coming back from 21-3 at Arrowhead. Most of all, they remember the team that arrived years ahead of schedule—and came one play from winning the whole thing before anyone thought they were supposed to be there.