The Facts: Burrow had to rehab before he could walk, and walk before he could make his unexpected run to Super Bowl LVI. That run now includes another achievement: 2021 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Burrow was named the recipient of the award during NFL Honors on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Diehards Line: Burrow's tale -- taking a team that had won just four games a year ago all the way to its third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history -- is remarkable for a second-year quarterback. It's even more impressive when considering he had to undergo knee surgery to repair a significant injury suffered as a rookie, rehabilitate, overcome the mental hurdles of returning to a high-speed contact sport, and then proceeded to light up the NFL in the final portion of the regular season. Burrow's second professional season has him on the doorstep of the elite class of NFL quarterbacks. He finished sixth in passing yards in the regular season, posted a 34-14 touchdown-to-interception ratio and the second-best passer rating in the entire NFL at 108.3, trailing only Aaron Rodgers. Burrow stuffed the stat sheet in the latter portion of the season, throwing for 440-plus yards in two of his final five games and breaking 500 yards in a win over Baltimore to complete the Bengals' season sweep of the Ravens. In a three-game winning streak from Week 15 through Week 17, Burrow's broke 103 in passer rating in each game, and Cincinnati sprinted to the AFC North title following a Week 17 win over the Chiefs.