You cannot have two more contrasting characters at quarterback than the two leading men of Super Bowl 2022.
Stafford and Burrow, not a law firm, but opposing quarterbacks who truly are opposites.
Matthew Stafford, in his first year with the Rams, is 33 years old, in his 13th NFL season and has psychological scar tissue from that tenure thanks to 12 years of toiling in Detroit with three one-and-done playoff experiences.
Joe Burrow, in his second year with the Bengals, is 25 years old and the only NFL scar tissue he has is in his right knee from the ACL injury that ended his rookie year prematurely.
Stafford, at least publicly, comes across as humble and soft-spoken.
Burrow comes across as cocksure, the image of him smoking celebratory cigars after big victories having become his calling card.
Stafford arrives to the stadium on game days dressed like he just finished doing a few weekend errands.
Burrow arrives to the stadium on game days looking like Bootsy Collins, decked out in over-the-top coats and avant-garde eyewear.
After Burrow helped the Bengals stun the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game on Sunday in Kansas City, he donned a gaudy diamond-studded necklace and, when asked if the diamonds are real, scoffed and said, “They’re definitely real. I make too much money [$36 million over four years] to have fake ones.”
After Stafford helped lead the Rams to their win over the 49ers in the NFC Championship game on Sunday in L.A. and was asked about the postgame embrace he had with his wife, Kelly, he held back tears.
“I couldn’t have done it without her,’’ he said. “She’s an unbelievable part of my life. I’m so lucky to be with her and have the children that I have and the family that I have. It’s the best part of my life. This is great, but that’s so much better.
“She’s been through a lot of that with me, and we’ve leaned on each other at separate times to help ourselves get through whatever we’re having to get through. She’s special to me and … to share that moment with her was so cool.’’
Kelly Stafford had a brain tumor removed three years ago, so the Staffords had gone through a lot more than losing football games for 12 years in Detroit.
“He’s such a great person,’’ Rams coach Sean McVay said. “If you don’t root for this guy, something’s wrong with you. He’s a great competitor. We’ve seen that, really, throughout the season. But I think it’s really been on display these last couple weeks.’’
Stafford beat Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers in the divisional round and followed that by helping the Rams overcome a 17-7 second-half deficit to beat the 49ers, 20-17.
“We talk about competitive greatness all the time — being your best when your best was required,’’ McVay said. “He embodied competitive greatness [Sunday]. Love Matthew Stafford.”
Stafford has thrown for more than 300 yards the past two weeks with six touchdowns and only one interception in the three playoff games in this run. He and the Rams beat five opponents with 10 or more victories this season, which is as many such wins as Stafford had his entire career in Detroit.
The pairing of Stafford and Burrow marks only the second time that two No. 1-overall draft picks will have faced each other in a Super Bowl. The only other time that happened was when Peyton Manning led the Broncos over Cam Newton and the Panthers six years ago.
Stafford, drafted No. 1 overall by the Lions in 2009, has resuscitated his career since being traded by the Lions to the Rams a year ago.
Burrow, drafted No. 1 last season, has resuscitated a Bengals franchise that had not won a playoff game in 31 years before winning three this month entering the Super Bowl.
“I’m not surprised,” Burrow said after knocking out Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, who’d been in the previous two Super Bowls. “Playing this whole year, I felt we had a chance to be here.”
Burrow owns the distinction of being the only quarterback other than Tom Brady to beat Mahomes in the playoffs. Mahomes is 8-0 against everyone but Burrow and Brady. Burrow, too, is 2-0 against Mahomes when trailing by 14 or more points. Everyone else is 2-39.
More numbers: The Bengals are four-point underdogs to the Rams. They were heavy underdogs last week in Kansas City and the No. 1-seeded Titans were favored to beat them in the divisional round the week before.
If you think Burrow pays any attention to these things, you haven’t been paying a lot of attention.
