Joe Burrow faces surgeon who repaired his knee in Super Bowl LVI

There are a lot of interesting connections between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.

Chief among them, of course, is the Bengals meeting old friend Andrew Whitworth and Rams coach Sean McVay encountering former understudy Zac Taylor.

But how about an underrated one that helped this game happen at all?

We’re talking about the connection between Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Dr. Neal ElAttrache, head physician of the Rams.

Roughly 14 months before this Super Bowl, it was ElAttrache who performed Burrow’s reconstructive knee surgery.

Without ElAttrache’s work, the Bengals don’t sniff the Super Bowl. Instead, his expertise oversaw the repair and Burrow handled the rest, rehabbing, working on his game and visibly improving on the field (comfort and mobility-wise) as the season progressed.

We’re sure to hear more about this in the week and a half before the game, if not from both guys on this topic. But for now, it’s worth pointing out early in the process and thinking about the connection.