Joe Burrow has 'utmost confidence' in offensive line despite prior struggles

One of the top storylines heading into Sunday's Super Bowl LVI showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams revolves around whether the Cincinnati offensive line can adequately protect quarterback Joe Burrow facing a front line that includes three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, among others. 

Per ESPN stats, Burrow was sacked a league-most 51 times in his second NFL regular season, and he went down nine times during the playoff win at the Tennessee Titans back on Jan. 22. It's widely assumed even "Joe Cool" will be bothered on football's biggest stage if he's hit early and often at SoFi Stadium, but he explained Monday he believes he can help his offensive line succeed in what will be, to date, the biggest game of his career. 

"They’re a very good defensive front," Burrow said of the opposition, according to Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "It’s going to be a challenge for our guys, but they’ve worked really hard to put themselves in this position. And I know that our coaching staff has a great plan for them that they’re going to be able to go out and execute. But obviously, guys like Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd, Von Miller are guys that are going to get pressure.

"So it’s going to be how, one, I handle the pressure — how I’m able to get the ball out of my hands and get it to my playmakers in space. And two, how we’re going to be able to handle them up front. I have the utmost confidence in our offensive line to make it happen." 

Pockets of bettors aren't as optimistic as Burrow, as FanDuel Sportsbook listed Donald as the favorite among all defensive players to win Super Bowl Most Valuable Player honors at +1600 on Monday afternoon.