The Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs have become big-time rivals in a brief time. Quarterback Joe Burrow had some high praise for Patrick Mahomes.
The teams have met a total of four times over the past two seasons, including the last two AFC Championship Games. The regular-season clashes have taken place in Cincinnati, the postseason encounters at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bengals and Chiefs have played four very memorable games over the past two years, with each contest decided by exactly three points. Zac Taylor's club got the best of Andy Reid's squad in the first three meetings. However, it was the Chiefs who defeated Cincinnati in the 2022 conference title clash on their way to defeating the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.
The teams are led by superstar quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes. The former had a pretty definitive answer when recently asked who was the top player in the league at his position?
Joe Burrow thinks Patrick Mahomes is the best QB in football
"I don't think there's any argument right now," said the three-year pro (via Eric Edholm of NFL.com). "It's Pat (Mahomes). Until somebody has a better year than he's had, he's the one to knock off."
What a year it was. Mahomes became the first player in the Super Bowl Era to lead the league in passing yards (5,250) and win a Lombardi Trophy in the same. The two-time NFL champion also threw a league-best 41 touchdown passes in 2022. He also finished second on the team with 358 yards rushing in four scores.
The 2022 NFL MVP had quite the playoff run. Mahomes hit on 72.0 percent of his throws for 703 yards and seven scores without an interception in the three-game sweep of the Jaguars, Bengals, and Eagles. Burrow and the Bengals have been more than a match for Reid's club, but the standout quarterback obviously has nothing but respect for the reigning champion. "Whenever you're at the top of what you do, you always have respect for those guys. Because you know the work that it takes to get to that point."