Ever since Joe Burrow’s 2019 season came to an end with LSU beating Clemson 42-25 in the national championship, fans have been asking the same thing: Was that the best season ever?
Burrow set record after record on his way to a having a perfect 15-0 season, winning a Heisman Trophy and going first overall in the NFL draft. He didn’t just have the best season that year, he might’ve had the best season by a quarterback ever.
However, many people said the same things about Cam Newton’s 2010 season at Auburn. Newton set record after record on his way to having a perfect 14-0 season, winning the Heisman trophy and going first overall in the NFL draft.
But which season was actually better?
Stats
At first glance, Burrow clears Newton. By a lot.
Burrow had a combined (throwing, rushing and, yes, receiving. He caught a 16-yard pass from himself in the SEC Championship against Georgia) 6,055 yards. Newton had only 4,369 yards in comparison (though he did beat Burrow in receiving yards with two catches for 42 yards).
Of course, Burrow played more games so it would be better to look at per game averages. Burrow averaged 403.67 yards per game while Newton had 312.07 yards per game.
The next stat would be touchdowns. Burrow had a combined 65 touchdowns for an average of 4.33 touchdowns a game. Newton had 51 (one receiving) touchdowns for an average of 3.64 touchdowns per game.
If we used those per game number to give Newton an extra game, he’d have around 4,681 total yards 55 touchdowns in a 15-game season. Impressive, but still well short of Burrow’s mind-boggling numbers.
Next, we will look at efficiency numbers. Burrow had a completion percentage of 76.3% compared to Newton’s 66.1%. Burrow also threw six interceptions in 15 games compared to Newton’s seven interceptions in 14 games.
Burrow had a passer rating of 202.0 compared to Newton’s passer rating of 182.0.
Burrow clearly has the edge in stats.
Big game player
If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Now, we will compare each player’s performance in the SEC Championship and the National Championship.
Despite Burrow having one of the best SEC Championship performances a quarterback can have, Newton might have him beat here.
Burrow put up 406 total yards and four touchdowns in LSU’s 37-10 win over Georgia. Newton put up 408 total yards and six touchdowns in Auburn’s 56-17 win over South Carolina.
However, the difficulty of the opponents was quite different. South Carolina was the No. 19 team in the country and came into the game with 3 losses already. LSU faced a Georgia team that was ranked No. 4 and had one of the best defenses in the country.
This one is a toss-up on which performance was more impressive.
The national championship performances, not so much.
Burrow’s game against Clemson was one of the most impressive championship performances ever. He put up 521 yards of total offense and six total touchdowns as LSU ended Clemson’s 29 game winning streak.
Newton put up 329 total yards and two touchdowns as Auburn beat Oregon 22-19. Newton also had an interception and a lost fumble.
Newton did lead a late drive down the field and did what he had to do to win the game, but it wasn’t his finest performance of the season.
Burrow takes the edge in championship games too.
Supporting Cast
Finally, this is where Newton has Burrow beat.
LSU’s 2019 was one of the most talented of all time. Ja’marr Chase and Justin Jefferson are maybe the two best receivers in the NFL, and they both played on the same team in college. In total, 30 players were drafted from that 2019 team with seven being first round picks.
Newton was one of just four players to be drafted that started for Auburn in the national championship game. None of the players drafted were in skill positions besides Newton.
Newton was a one-man wrecking crew while Burrow had more talent surrounding him than maybe any quarterback ever.
However, this doesn’t make Newton’s season better. Newton might have been a better talent, but Burrow undoubtedly had the better season.
In terms of best seasons ever, Burrow’s 2019 season comes out on top.