In case you missed it last week, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 525 yards and four touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens. He was spectacular, adding fuel to the fire that's been quite the productive 2021 season for the former LSU standout. With performances like that from him, as well as a team that's exceeding expectations this year, national media figures are beginning to put Burrow on a pedestal relative to the best quarterback in the NFL: Patrick Mahomes.
Don't get it twisted: Burrow is an awesome young talent. His leadership is world-class, his accuracy is among the top signal-callers in the NFL and his processor is the stuff of legend. With that said, he's in just his second year in the NFL and still has a losing record as a starting quarterback. Mahomes has a league MVP, a Super Bowl MVP and multiple winning seasons on his resume. Conner Christopherson of Arrowhead Report joined me on today's Roughing the Kicker podcast to discuss why although Mahomes has had his fair share of rough moments this season, the constant comparisons to other young quarterbacks are rather silly.
If a case were to be made for a veteran such as Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers in this situation, that would make a great deal more sense. Brady is the reigning Super Bowl champ and Rodgers very well may be en route to his second straight MVP award. Mahomes has transcended his under-30 peers, though, and is still regarded as better than the aforementioned duo despite being over a decade younger.
Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and Burrow are all amazing players. Allen's howitzer of an arm rivals that of Mahomes and his overall athletic ability makes him a terrorizing matchup for opposing defenses. Jackson's success as a dual-threat quarterback — as well as the league MVP sitting on his mantle — cannot be ignored. Herbert has gotten off to one of the best starts to a career in NFL history. And, of course, we've addressed the great things Burrow brings to the table.
But again, Mahomes has transcended them.
Mahomes is 2-1 against Allen, with one of those wins coming in last season's AFC Championship Game. He's 3-1 against Jackson and was a Clyde Edwards-Helaire fumble away from being 4-0. He's 2-1 against Herbert, although those matchups have been the closest and most thrilling of all. Mahomes has yet to play the Bengals and Burrow, but he has an opportunity to put yet another quarterback comparison to rest with a big win.
The constant here is Mahomes. No matter who national media pundits, fans and even local analysts alike throw into the ring with the 26-year-old quarterback, he's been able to come out on top. The flavor of the week this time around is Burrow, who's great in his own right, but just about everyone knows who the better player of the two is. Mahomes, a true superstar with accolades and statistics to back it up, has the chance to remind everyone of that in Week 17.
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