Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale woke a sleeping giant before Sunday's matchup.
By giant, I mean Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. This all started with a comment made by Martindale when asked about how the Ravens will plan for Burrow and rookie wideout Ja'Marr Chase.
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The Ravens played an unusual coverage against the Green Bay Packers in Week 15 to try and shut down Green Bay's Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams. Martindale was asked if he would use the same type of coverage for Burrow and Chase and his response proved to be bulletin board material for Burrow.
"Adams is one of the top two receivers in the league and he's not No. 2. Aaron Rodgers is a Hall of Fame quarterback, and I don't think we're ready to buy a gold jacket for Joe (Burrow)."
This comment made its way to Burrow and he wasn't happy about it.
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"I didn’t think it was a necessary comment," Burrow said of Martindale's comments. "I wouldn’t say I was offended by it. I mean, I’m in Year Two. Who knows what’s going to happen down the road? But I didn’t think it was a necessary comment."
Rather than talking about it, Burrow did something about it. Cincinnati's franchise quarterback threw for 525 yards and four touchdowns in the 41-21 win over the Ravens.
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When asked if he was thinking about the comments while on the field having the day he did, Burrow said "maybe" with a big smirk on his face.
Burrow set a franchise record for passing yards in a single game with his performance against Baltimore. The Bengals swept the Ravens this season and Burrow completed 58 passes for 941 yards and seven touchdowns against Baltimore this season.
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