Joe Burrow has taken a beating under center in his first two seasons in the NFL.
His first season, Burrow absorbed 32 sacks in 10 games played, and suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee as he was throwing a pass that sidelined him for the rest of the campaign. Despite the rapid turnaround by the Bengals, Burrow has been under still constant fire, having taken a league-leading 51 sacks in the regular season and 11 already in the playoffs, nine in the divisional round win against the Titans.
Despite this, the Bengals find themselves a win away from the Super Bowl due in large part to the stellar performance by the battered, second-year quarterback. In fact, if he reaches the Super Bowl, he'd make some impressive history for all quarterbacks that have been consistently chased in the backfield.
Joe Burrow 2021 sacks
The Bengals' offensive line woes were put on display on the big stage against the Titans, but it has been a constant issue. Burrow led the league with the most games with at least five sacks (five), according to Stathead, and easily ran away with the title of most-sacked quarterback in the 2021 season.
Historically, that has not boded well for quarterbacks.
According to data from Stathead, there has never been a quarterback lead the NFL in sacks in a season and reach the Super Bowl. Only four quarterbacks that led the league in sacks even reached the conference championship that season. Should Burrow beat the Chiefs on Sunday, he'll be making history.
| Quarterback | Team | Year | Sacks | Conference Championship Result |
| Mark Brunell | Jaguars | 1996 | 50 | Patriots 20, Jaguars 6 |
| Jay Cutler | Bears | 2010 | 52 | Packers 21, Bears 14 |
| Alex Smith | 49ers | 2011 | 44 | Giants 20, 49ers 17 |
Jay Cutler is the only quarterback to have been sacked more than Burrow in a season and reach the conference championship, and even he endured less of a beating in the playoffs, having been sacked just five times in the divisional and championship rounds.
Overall, players that finished the season leading the league in sacks missed the playoffs 42 times, or 79 percent of the time. The team they played for has, on average, a .430 winning percentage.
The quarterbacks in NFL history sacked the most in a season that still reached the playoffs were the Jets' Ken O'Brien, who was taken down 62 times in 1985, and the Texans' Deshaun Watson, who was also sacked 62 times in 2018. O'Brien led New York to the wild card round, where they were eliminated by the Patriots 26-14. The Texans lost their wild-card round round to the Colts in a 21-7 defeat. The overall list of players to reach the playoffs after leading the league in sacks is short.
| Quarterback | Team | Year | Sacks | Round Reached |
| Ken O'Brien | Jets | 1985 | 62 | Wild card |
| Deshuan Watson | Texans | 2018 | 62 | Wild card |
| Randall Cunningham | Eagles | 1992 | 60 | Divisional round |
| Randall Cunningham | Eagles | 1988 | 57 | Divisional round |
| Jay Cutler | Bears | 2010 | 52 | Conference championship |
| Aaron Rodgers | Packers | 2012 | 51 | Divisional round |
| Joe Burrow | Bengals | 2021 | 51 | Conference championship (so far) |
| Mark Brunell | Jaguars | 1996 | 50 | Conference championship |
| Aaron Rodgers | Packers | 2009 | 50 | Wild card |
| Randall Cunningham | Eagles | 1990 | 49 | Wild card |
| Alex Smith | 49ers | 2011 | 44 | Conference championship |
Yeah, Randall Cunningham was sacked a lot, but still managed to take Philadelphia to the playoffs quite a lot.
Of those quarterbacks, only Cunningham in both 1992 (66), Watson (65) and O'Brien (64) have been sacked more than the 62 Burrow has sustained between the regular season and postseason. Burrow's 11 playoff sacks are already tied for the eighth-most in a single postseason in NFL history, according to Stathead.
Most sacks allowed by a team
It goes without saying that allowing sacks does not help a team win. Teams take about an average of 36.9 sacks per season.
Here's a look at the history of each NFL team allowing sacks per season.
That dot far to the right is the 1986 Eagles, which allowed the most sacks in NFL history at 106. Led by, you guessed it, Cunningham and his 72 sacks. The only quarterback taken down more in the backfield in a single season is former Texan quarterback David Carr, who was sacked 76 times in 2002.
Based on a regression analysis, every sack allowed after 36 would be expected to reduce a team's winning percentage by .0069. The expected winning percentage for the Bengals, who allowed 55 total sacks to Burrow and backup Brandon Allen, this season based on sacks allowed would have been .374, or roughly a 6-11 campaign. Instead, they flipped that around to 10-7.
It has been a remarkable season for Burrow and the Bengals to advance this far despite their franchise quarterback taking so many shots. On Sunday, he'll look to keep the historic run going when Cincinnati faces the Chiefs on the road in the AFC Conference Championship.