Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has been named the Hickok Belt® Award winner for December 2021. Voting was conducted by a select panel of members of the National Sports Media Association (NSMA). The voters selected Burrow for his performance in Week 16, a record setting day against the Baltimore Ravens. Burrow posted career highs in the most passing yardage, 525 yards (fourth highest of all time) in a single game, with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Completing 80 percent of his passes placed Burrow at the 143.2 passer rating, powering the Bengals past the Ravens with a 41-21 victory. It was the Bengals best season since 2015, and put them in first place of the AFC North. Joe Burrow’s performance in Week 16 earned him high praise and he was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Other finalists for December in order of how the NSMA ranked them included: Cooper Kupp (football), Kevin Durant (basketball), Trae Young (basketball) and Jonathan Taylor (football) – tie, Max Pacioretty (hockey), DeMar DeRozan (basketball), Thatcher Demko (hockey), Max Verstappen (auto racing), and Connor McDavid (hockey) – tie.
His selection as the Hickok Belt® Award winner for December 2021 recognizes Joe Burrow as the “best of the best” in professional sports for the month and makes him the twelfth candidate eligible to receive the Hickok Belt® Award in 2021, joining Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, Emma Raducanu, Athing Mu, Caleb Dressel, Shohei Ohtani, Phil Mickelson, Hideki Matsuyama, Luke Doncic, Naomi Osaka, and Patrick Mahomes. Winners as selected by the NSMA are announced each month. The “overall” yearly winner of the Hickok Belt® Award for 2021 will be announced in the coming weeks.
To learn more about the history of the Hickok Belt® Award and keep up with all the news surrounding the award in 2022, visit hickokbelt.com.
Provided information
