This rivalry is becoming really lopsided. Joe Burrow and the Cincinatti Bengals have won their third game in a row against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs as they won a 27-24 shootout, pushing them closer in the AFC North division title race.
If any team can lay claim to the title of ‘Owning Patrick Mahomes and the KC Chiefs’, it’s the Bengals. Not only is this the Bengals third straight win over the Chiefs, but it is also another crucial win in each of these teams, respective, seasons.
The first two wins, both of which came during last year’s regular season and playoffs, dramatically altered the fate of the Bengals and Chiefs seasons as the first win cemented the Bengals as the AFC North division title winner and the second cemented their place over KC as the AFC’s Super Bowl representative. Now, this win shouldn’t be as consequential as those two, but it is definitely important, nonetheless.
Not only have the Bengals moved to withing just one game of Kansas City in the AFC’s standings, but they also have now put the Buffalo Bills as the #1 team in the conference. Given how KC already lost to Buffalo a few weeks ago, the tiebreaker that separates the 9-3 Bills and now 9-3 Chiefs belongs to the upstate New York team.
Thus, if both the Chiefs and Bills win out, the road to the Super Bowl will now head through Orchard Park and not Arrowhead Stadium, which is the exact opposite scenario if the Chiefs won today. Of course, there is a bunch of ‘ifs’ between now and the AFC Championship game, but that wouldn’t that be a funny if the #1 seed advantage (ex: home field, Wild Card bye) was the reason why the Chiefs didn’t make it back to the Super Bowl.
Nevertheless, this was a great game regardless of the consequences surrounding it. The Bengals and the Chiefs battled it out for four quarters to combine for a grand total of 51 points and 780 yards of total offense.
Both Mahomes and Burrow were slinging the ball out there as it was a true QB showdown in Cincinnati with one quarterback leading his team down into the endzone and taking the lead to only then head back to the sideline and watch the other do exactly the same thing. Though, if I had to pick one who had the better game, it’d have to be Joe Burrow.
Completing 25/31 passes for 286 yards and 2 TD, Burrow had a very good (if not great) game that saw him slinging the ball down the field to his receivers, such as Jamarr Chase (7 REC, 97 yards) and Tee Higgins (3 REC, 35 yards), as the Chiefs defense simply couldn’t stop him. It’s very rare to see a quarterback completing 81% of passes against any team in the league, let alone against the Kansas City Chiefs, which proves how good Burrow was today.
If this game didn’t prove to Burrow haters and doubters that he’s the real deal and the true archnemesis to Patrick Mahomes, then nothing will.
Burrow made massive, consequential throws, such as the one to Tee Higgins on 3rd and 11 and a defender in his face that clinched the game, with poise and a Joe Montana-level of cool. Him and Mahomes may never have the extraordinary success of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, but they can definitely form a rivalry just as intense.
Yes, Burrow didn’t win this game on his own as he had Jamar Chase, Tee Higgins, and Samaje Perine (21 CAR, 106 yards) to throw/hand off to, but he was the vital cog that got this Bengals offense (and really this team in generally) running.
Speaking of Mahomes, he was only a late-game field goal miss away from tying the game and potentially winning it in overtime.
He was a just as impactful as Burrow for his KC side as he went 16/27 for 223 yards and 1 TD, though he wasn’t as efficient with the football or as dangerous as his Bengals counterpart. In reality, the entire Chiefs offense looked disjointed today as they fell behind two scores early and struggled to get a foothold in the game until the final quarter.
Travis Kelce had an off day with only 4 catches for 56 yards, Isiah Pacheco had a quite game with 14 carries for 66 yards, and Marquez Valdes-Scanting dropped numerous passes as he only finished the game with 2 catches for 71 yards.
If the KC defense, led by Chris Jones (5 tackles), Frank Clark (3 tackles) and Nick Bolton (16 tackles), wasn’t able to staunch the bleeding early on in that game, then Mahomes and the Chiefs offense might never have had the chance to nearly complete the comeback.
Yes, the Chiefs lost due to a final 5-minute TD drive, but they didn’t play as mediocre as the Bengals 27 points suggests.
I though the Chiefs (9-3) were going to win the AFC Crown with ease in this final stretch of the season, but that’s not going to be the case with them now trailing the Bills in the standings.
As for the Bengals (8-4), they have a great chance of catching up the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC division title with Lamar Jackson going down to injury today.
This playoff battle in the AFC is really heating up…and I’m loving it!
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