By the Numbers: Burrow only QB to beat Mahomes three straight times
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Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will face Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive season this coming Sunday night.
This is the first time the same two teams have run into each other in the conference championship since the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens traded wins in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Last season in the AFC title game, the Chiefs jumped out to a 21-3 lead in the second quarter before the Bengals rallied to outscore Kansas City 24-3 the rest of the game to advance to Super Bowl LVI with a 27-24 overtime win.
Burrow led the way for the Bengals by throwing for 250 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Mahomes threw for 275 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss.
Cincinnati would go on to lose to the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 in the Super Bowl.
Burrow has a 3-0 record against Mahomes and the Chiefs where he won each game by a field goal and has 982 passing yards with 8 touchdowns and one interceptions in those three victories. Burrow is the only quarterback to defeat Mahomes three straight times.
In their most recent matchup, Burrow threw for 286 yards with two touchdowns to lead the Bengals over the Chiefs 27-24 in Week 13.
Adding to Burrow’s lore is that most of his playoff success has come on the road. The 26-year-old Heisman Trophy winner has a 3-0 record on the road in the playoffs and a win against the Chiefs on Sunday will equal Jake Delhomme for the most consecutive road playoff games to start an NFL career.
Additionally, Burrow’s Bengals were underdogs in all three of their road victories and they are projected to be an underdog once again against the Chiefs on Sunday. Burrow can join Eli Manning and Delhomme as the only quarterbacks to win four or more straight road playoff games as an underdog with a victory on Sunday.
Mahomes is trying to lead the Chiefs to their third Super Bowl appearance in four seasons. If successful, the 27-year-old would match Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks to reach the NFL’s championship game at least three times in their first six seasons.
Furthermore, a victory over the Bengals on Sunday would be Mahomes’ 10th career win which would equal Brady for the most playoff victories within their first six seasons.
The Chiefs averaged 29.2 points per game this season and are trying to become the first team to lead the NFL in scoring to reach the Super Bowl since the Atlanta Falcons in 2016.
This is the fourth time the top two NFL leaders in passing touchdowns have met in a conference championship and the first time it’s happened in the AFC. Mahomes led the NFL with 41 passing touchdowns followed by Burrow with 35, finishing tied for second with Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills.