After another mind-blowing performance in Super Bowl LVIII, much of the NFL is asking themselves who can stop Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs next season. ESPN NFL analyst and former NFL player Louis Riddick says only one quarterback can elevate their team like Patrick Mahomes.
“There’s one cat in the entire league mentally who can compete on par with Patrick and can raise the level of the people around in the same way Patrick does,” Riddick said to Stephen A. Smith on his talk show this week. “And that’s Joe Burrow.”
Joe Burrow is 3-1 (.750) all-time versus Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs and 1-1 in the postseason. His playoff win and loss against Mahomes came in the 2021 and 2022 AFC Championship games. Only one quarterback has a better win percentage against Mahomes, and that’s Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions at 2-0 (1.000). Derek Carr of the New Orleans Saints, who formerly played for the Chiefs’ division rival Las Vegas Raiders, has the worst record against Patrick Mahomes at 1-9 (.010).
Riddick contends that beating Mahomes and the Chiefs is about not just matching their abilities on the field and what happens between the ears. The 2023 season and latest Super Bowl win prove Mahomes is adept at getting inside his opponent’s heads. Just ask the San Francisco 49ers. According to Riddick, Burrow possesses that quality. The young quarterback for the Bengals has shown an ability to elevate his team’s performance and inspire confidence like Mahomes does to the Chiefs.
“Just like Patrick is in everyone else’s head, Joe Burrow was in Kansas City’s head,” Riddick pointed out. “Okay, that’s a fact. Since then, he was driving this team crazy now. And when he comes back, he’s really the one guy that’s right there with him (Mahomes) now.”
Burrow and Mahomes have a key element in common, Louis Riddick says
Riddick also emphasized that Joe Burrow’s fearlessness and competitive spirit make him a powerful force to contend with and it’s the reason why he thinks he’s the only other AFC quarterback in the same league as Mahomes. He highlighted Burrows performance when facing off against the Chiefs in last season’s AFC Championship, a game the Chiefs won 23-20 in Kansas City. Even though they didn’t win that game, Burrow made an impression on the Kansas City defense. His skill in extending plays, making throws under pressure and rallying his team showed that he has the potential to challenge the Chiefs dominance in the AFC, Riddick said.
Burrow, who missed most of the 2023 season with calf and wrist injuries, is on track to regain full strength for the start of training camp this summer. In his four years in the NFL, Burrow has missed 13 games due to injuries, including a season-ending knee injury his rookie season in 2020, and tore a ligament in his right wrist during Cincinnati’s loss to the Ravens in November of the 2023 season.