Archdeacon: Joe Cool does it all in Bengals’ win over Falcons

But the Cincinnati Bengals right guard saw coolness Sunday when he looked across the locker room following his team’s 35-17 dismantling of the Atlanta Falcons at Paycor Stadium and focused on the dressing cubicle in the corner.

That where quarterback Joe Burrow, still wearing his game pants and a white T-shirt, stood in front of a clothes bar that held that day’s wardrobe selections: the purple Kid Cudi NASA Spaceman shirt he’d worn into the stadium and the specially-made black baggy pants that were the work of designer Micah Saltzman, a high school friend from back in Athens who has his own fashion line – Live 2 Love.

“Yeah, Joe’s pretty cool,” Cappa grinned. “He had a great look today. He can pull it off, but me, naah… I’ll lay low on all that.”

What Cappa really wanted to focus on was Burrow’s coolness under fire on the field Sunday:

“He was super confident and a good leader today…He was cool.”

Sunday, more than any other time this season, Burrow’s game fully eclipsed his garb.

He did it all against the Falcons:

Back shoulder throws to his receivers. A touchdown bomb right down the middle of the field to open the game. Scrambles that led to pinpoint throws. Even some runs, one for a 1-yard touchdown and another on a 20-yard draw that he ended with an exclamation point signal of a first down.

The Bengals third-year quarterback commandeered the stage from the start.

In the first quarter he completed 13 of 15 passes for 196 yards. It took him just two minutes to hit Tyler Boyd with a 60-yard touchdown strike over the middle.

Just over eight minutes later the Bengals upped their lead to 14-0 with a 1-yard Joe Mixon run that was set up by four Burrow completions.

Burrow ended the day having completed 34 of 42 passes for a whopping 481 yards and three TDs. Two of the scoring throws – both in the second quarter -- went to Ja’Marr Chase, one for 32 yards and the other for 41.

The Bengals nearly had three 100-yard receivers on the day, something the team last did 32 years ago. Boyd finished with 155 receiving yards. Chase had 130 and Tee Higgins had 93.

Since the start of last season, Burrow has three of the top four passing yards games in the NFL

Tops on the list was his 525-yard effort – a Bengals’ record – in Week 16 last season. Sunday’s 481 yards are second.

Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa had a 469-yard game early this season and in Week 17 last year Burrow passed for 446 yards.

The NFL’s all-time record for a single game is 554 yards set by Norm Van Brocklin 71 years ago, but that now seems well within Burrow’s reach, especially with his three top wide receivers and the addition of veteran tight end Hayden Hurst.

Last season Michael Irvin, the Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver and current NFL broadcaster, talked about the presence of Burrow – not just what he does, but the way he does it and how it will continue to translate to success for Cincinnati:

“It’s so powerful when you have swagger at the quarterback position like they have with Burrow. It means you’re the heart and soul of your team …. and people gravitate to you.”

More than any game this season, that was evident Sunday and that should ease Bengals fans’ minds after a shaky 0-2 start this season.

No the offense isn’t broken.

No last season’s success didn’t disappear with the evaporated champagne bubbles following the Super Bowl loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

And no, success hasn’t left Burrow’s arm and gone to his head.

“He hasn’t tried to be some other guy or tried to do too much or overwhelmed himself with hype,” said Boyd, whose team has now won four of its last five games. “That swagger he’s got is gonna keep this train rollin

Burrow agreed when someone asked him during his postgame media session if he was playing his best ball of the season: “Yes , I would say that. I’m feeling comfortable. We’re getting our timing down. We’re finding our stride.”

As he headed back to his locker stall he was asked about his off the field look, which now draws weekly speculation and a collection of photographers who wait for him to enter the stadium and then post the images on social media.

The Spaceman shirt was sent to him by Cleveland-born rapper Kid Cudi, he said.

They’re friends. He sent the musician his AFC Championship game jersey last year and Cudi included a cut entitled “Burrow” on his latest album.

As for the pants, they came from Saltzman, who also did a popular Sherpa jacket Burrow wore last year.

“He’s from my hometown and I just like how his stuff looks,” Burrow said. “It’s pretty cool.”

And that’s what Sunday was all about.