Joe Burrow isn’t letting the tall task of standing up against Patrick Mahomes psyche him out ahead of Week 17.
The Bengals are hosting The Kansas City Chiefs in a highly touted contest that features two game-breaking quarterbacks: Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow.
Mahomes has led Kansas City to three straight AFC Championship appearances and two Super Bowls, winning one in 2019. Burrow is quickly ascending as one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. The second-year quarterback is coming off a 525 yard, four-touchdown performance against Baltimore last week.
“We’re playing a really good team that’s been in the Super Bowl the last two years, so it’s a big opportunity in that sense. They’ve been one of the best offenses in the league since he [Patrick Mahomes] has been the starting quarterback,” Burrow said this week. “We’re going in expecting to have to score a lot of points and we’ll adapt accordingly.”
Can Joe Burrow lead the Bengals to the promised land?
This will be a true test to see if the Bengals can make a deep playoff run and threaten the Chiefs. Cincinnati’s core consists of young players including Burrow, Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase, Joe Mixon, and Tyler Boyd. All of these players are 25 or younger and the future is bright for the Bengals with this group.
Each team is going into Sunday with huge playoff implications. The Chiefs need to win to keep themselves on top of the AFC. If Kansas City were to lose and the Titans defeat the Dolphins, Tennessee would then gain control of the AFC, while Kansas City would slide to the second seed. As for the Bengals, if they win and the Ravens lose to the Rams, Cincinnati will win the division.
Defeating the Chiefs would turn the doubters into believers and would put the league on notice that the Cincinnati Bengals are true contenders in the AFC. Burrow is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league and his intangibles have shown that he is a true franchise quarterback. His leadership and confidence have turned heads in the league, putting the Bengals on the map as contenders in the present and future.
How that all stacks up against Mahomes and the best team in the AFC — and possibly the entire league — is yet to be seen.