Super Bowl 2022: Joe Burrow's state of mind: Win a Super Bowl for Ohio

Joe Burrow grew up in Athens, Ohio, about 160 miles from Cincinnati. Most of the kids he knew in middle school and high school were fans of the Steelers or Browns, not the Bengals.

"There were a few Bengals fans here and there that kind of got made fun of," he said.

Burrow has played a big part in changing how the Bengals are perceived. No one is laughing or ridiculing them or their fans now.

In his second season as Bengals quarterback, Burrow has led the franchise to heights it has not attained in more than 30 years.

On Sunday, the Bengals will play in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1988 season. With Burrow leading the way, they’ll be seeking their first title when they face the Rams in Super Bowl LVI.

"Being from Ohio and being the quarterback of the Bengals is something I’m really proud of," Burrow said. "As a team, we’re excited to put a product on the field that the fans are proud of and that gives them bragging rights. They haven’t had that in a while. I’m excited to give that to them."

Growing up, Burrow wasn’t a Bengals fan either. He followed the Saints because of Drew Brees and the way he helped to transform that franchise from losers to Super Bowl champions. That’s the kind of impact Burrow could have on Cincinnati.

The Bengals reached the Super Bowl in the 1981 and 1988 seasons. Since their last appearance, they had 19 losing seasons and made the postseason only eight times before this year.

The Bengals were 2-14 in 2019, earned the No. 1 pick in the draft and took Burrow.

They won four games last season, and Burrow was limited to 10 games because of a torn ACL.

This year, the Bengals’ offense was tough to stop with Burrow, running back Joe Mixon and a receiving group of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.

They went 10-7 in winning the AFC North title, defeated the Raiders in the wild-card game for their first playoff victory in 31 years, and now can become the first team in 40 years to win a Super Bowl two years after having the worst record in the NFL. (The 49ers did it in 1981, two years after drafting Joe Montana.)

"What happened in the past happened in the past," Burrow said. "Obviously, we weren’t a very good team for several years. Now we’re in the Super Bowl. You have to give credit to the organization for building the team that we have."

The Bengals have made a number of moves that have turned around the franchise. It started with Burrow, but in that same draft they took receiver Higgins and linebacker Logan Wilson.

Last offseason, they signed defensive end Trey Hendrickson, cornerbacks Mike Hilton, Chidobe Awuzie and Eli Apple, and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. They also acquired defensive tackle B.J. Hill from the Giants.

The Bengals were criticized for not taking offensive tackle Penei Sewell with the No. 5 pick in the 2021 draft. They chose Chase, Burrow’s former college teammate.

No one is criticizing them now. Chase was named Offensive Rookie of the Year after rewriting the rookie record book for receivers.

"We got very lucky with the draft process and drafting once-in-a-lifetime-type talents," safety Vonn Bell said. "You bring in once-in-a-lifetime-type talents, it will definitely help improve your team as long as you have the right core pieces in the locker room already."

Coming into this season, little was expected of the Bengals. They were not projected to win their division and were even with the Jets in the preseason at 150-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, according to Pro Football Reference.

Things changed quickly.

Burrow said the Bengals’ 41-17 win at Baltimore in Week 7 was when he started to think they could be a really good team. They continued to buy into what third-year coach Zac Taylor was preaching, believed in themselves and improved. They won games in Tennessee and Kansas City to get to the Super Bowl.

"It’s not really a surprise to us," Taylor said. "It’s a tremendous organization that supported us through thin and now thick. We appreciate everything that’s happening for us right now because we’ve seen the worst of things. Now we’re seeing the best of things."

For the Bengals to really be the best, they’re going to have to shut down or at least limit a Rams offense that features two dynamic receivers in Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. The Bengals shut down Kansas City in the second half of their OT win in the AFC Championship Game and are confident they can do the same on Sunday.

"At the beginning of the season, nobody would have thought that the Bengals would be in this position,’’ Mixon said. "Here we are. We’re here to seize the moment, seize the opportunity. It’s a special moment. It’s a great time to be a Cincinnati Bengal."

And a Bengals fan.