The Bengals and Chiefs need no help bolstering their rivalry, but a former Cincinnati quarterback decided to add fuel to the fire regardless.
"I think Joe (Burrow) is the best quarterback in the league," Carson Palmer said last week on The QB Room podcast. "I know Patrick (Mahomes) is phenomenal, but I just think Joe's more consistent. He's more consistent. He's more accountable to run the system and the play that's called and not feel like, 'Well, he didn't win last time and get open for me, so I'm gonna do it with my feet,' and then before you know it, you're sacked for a four-yard loss because you tried to make two or three guys miss.
"Joe is just -- talk about not having a weakness -- mentally strong, physically tough, accurate, can throw it far enough, fast enough, gets the ball out quick, and then he can actually do a lot with his legs. He just rarely shows it. I think he's as athletic outside the pocket and can do a lot of the same things Patrick Mahomes has done. He hasn't done it and showed it yet. He's played more within his system and style. But I think he's the best quarterback in the league."
As reigning AP NFL Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl champion, Mahomes is a natural starting point for any debate over the best quarterback in the league. The fact that the Chiefs and Bengals have met in and split the previous two AFC Championship Games by a total of six points also lends itself to pitting the two players against each other.
Mahomes has the hardware to back up his claim as king of the hill, as well as a longer history of excellence and the most recent victory despite a 1-3 head-to-head record versus Burrow, but their stat lines during the past two seasons aren't remarkably far off.
Mahomes has completed 871 of 1,306 attempts (66.7 completion percentage) for 10,089 yards, 78 touchdowns and 25 interceptions over 34 regular-season games.
Meanwhile, Burrow has connected on 780 of his 1,126 attempts (69.3 completion percentage) in two fewer contests, amassing 9,086 yards, 69 TDs and 26 INTs.
PFF also awarded Burrow and Mahomes the two highest passing grades of 2022, with 90.0 and 89.2, respectively.
The much thinner points of Palmer's argument revolve around consistency and mobility, both outside the pocket and taking sacks. It's no knock against Burrow's reliability to deliver, but Mahomes has CVS-style receipts for record-breaking consistency by quarterbacking Kansas City to five straight AFC championship appearances at home.
And while he's been known to play hero ball from time to time, that's part of the magic formula that puts him on another plane entirely. Plus, no Mahomes-led team has ever ranked worse than fifth-best in sacks surrendered. He's been sacked 54 times since 2021 compared to Burrow's 92, and scrambled for 364 more yards on just 12 more carries in that same time frame.
Like Burrow, Palmer is a former No. 1 overall pick by the Bengals who helped restore legitimacy to the franchise with a postseason run during his second season, though it's not as if his opinion can be shrugged off simply as an affinity for his old club.
Palmer threatened to retire in 2011 after seven years with the Bengals rather than spend another season in Cincy, and he followed through by sitting out half the season before being traded to the Raiders. He spent two years there and five more in Arizona, but now he finds himself propping up his first team's signal-caller as the best in the NFL.
The comparisons from players past and present is a symptom of the two quarterbacks operating at the pinnacle of their sport, and the debates will likely flare up throughout the arcs of their careers.
The Chiefs are already slated to host the Bengals again in the 2023 regular season. It would come as no surprise if Mahomes and Burrow manage to set up yet another rematch come playoff time.
Let the countdown to their next showdown begin.
