Bengals vs Chiefs AFC Championship: QB matchup | Joe Burrow vs Patrick Mahomes

The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is currently the frontrunner in the NFL MVP race. But Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is not far behind in the competition. This Sunday, two of the best quarterbacks in the league will face off in the AFC Conference final as the Chiefs host the Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium.

Both beat some odds last week to make it to this point in the playoffs. Joe Burrow and the Bengals had to get past the Buffalo Bills in New York in a snow-covered stadium full of loud Bills fans. The Chiefs had to put in their backup quarterback for the second quarter of the game against the Jaguars before Mahomes came back out to play the game with a high-ankle sprain.

Both quarterbacks are capable of beating the odds. Both quarterbacks have brought their teams more playoff success than they’d seen in years. Since Mahomes joined the Chiefs in 2017, he has taken them to five AFC Championship games, two AFC titles, two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl victory. Since Burrow joined the Bengals in 2020, they have won five playoff games, including three on the road - before that, they had only won five ever since their founding in 1986. He took them to the Super Bowl in 2021 and has won the Bengals the AFC North title two years in a row and now will have them playing in their second consecutive AFC title game.

Mahomes vs Burrow: How do they compare?

It’s hard to say one is better than the other when comparing Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow. Statistically speaking, Mahomes wins. But in their three meetings, it’s been Burrow who’s come out on top, all three times.

The two quarterbacks first faced each other in 2021, when the Bengals came back from a 14-point deficit and won 34-31 in Cincinnati. They have met once this regular season as well, in Week 13, when the Bengals won again on a field goal, 27-24. Then of course, there was last year’s AFC Championship game. The Bengals were down 21-10 at halftime and Burrow led them to another comeback, winning 27-24 in overtime.

Let’s have a look at how their stats compare…

Patrick Mamomes 2022 stats:

Joe Burrow 2022 stats:

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Mahomes is undoubtedly one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now, but Burrow is one of the only quarterbacks who’s been able to challenge him on that. He is the only quarterback drafted since 2017 to have a .500 or better record against Mahomes. Burrow also made history after the Bengals victory over the Bills last week as just the third starting quarterback to win at least five playoff games in their first three seasons, joining Russell Wilson and Ben Roethlisberger. He is also just the fifth quarterback in the Super Bowl era to win all three of his first road playoff games.

Mahomes made the playoffs within three years of joining the Chiefs and won the Super Bowl in his third year with them (2019). Burrow’s first trip to the playoffs was last year, in his second season, when he also led the Bengals to the Super Bowl, but they lost to the Los Angeles Chargers. When Mahomes made the playoffs with the Chiefs in his third year, he had just four playoff wins, having lost his first in 2017 and won just one in 2018.

The two are a lot of fun to watch and even more so when they’re up against each other. Burrow may have a slight edge this Sunday simply because Mahomes injured his ankle in the Divisional Round just last week.

The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET from Arrowhead Stadium.