Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow knows that to be the best you need to beat the best. That’s why he’s hoping the Bengals can dethrone the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs this upcoming season.
“They’re the gold standard right now. Everybody’s chasing them — obviously, they’re back-to-back world champs,” Burrow said of the Chiefs during his press conference on May 7. “Somebody’s got to knock them off, I’m hoping it’s us.”
Joe Burrow is One of Few NFL QBs With Winning Record Against Patrick Mahomes
The Burrow-led Bengals are one of the few NFL teams that has a winning record against the Chiefs since quarterback Patrick Mahomes became Kansas City’s starting quarterback.
Against the Chiefs during the regular season, Burrow has a 2-0 record and completed 78.6% of his passes for 732 yards, and has 6 touchdowns and 0 turnovers in those matchups, according to Stathead.
During the postseason, Burrow has a 1-1 record against Kansas City. In those games, Cincy’s franchise QB completed 62% of his passes for 520 yards, 3 touchdowns, and also had 3 interceptions.
Though the Bengals have bested the Chiefs during the regular season when Burrow is under center, Cincy has yet to prove it can consistently defeat Kansas City during the playoffs. So, to be considered the best in the league, the Bengals will need to dethrone the Chiefs during the playoffs, which will give them a winning record against the Mahomes-led Kansas City squad during the postseason.
But Cincy will also need to win a Super Bowl to be considered the best in the NFL. Until that happens, the Bengals — like every other team in the NFL — will be living in the shadow of Chiefs Kingdom.
Louis Rees-Zammit Talks About Transition from Rugby to NFL
One of the more interesting signings by the Chiefs this offseason was Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit, who joined the NFL through the International Pathway program.
Speaking to the media on the final day of rookie minicamp, Rees-Zammit — who had never played football before entering the NFL — explained what prompted him to try football.
“My dad was a big NFL fan growing up and he wanted to play the sport, he played American football back in the UK, it wasn’t an option to come out here and play,” Reese-Zammit explained during his press conference on May 6. “Growing up as a kid I’ve always watched it. Every Sunday I’d be staying up late – obviously, the time difference is five to six hours, it would be early hours in the morning for me. My dad is a massive mentor for me and a role model. It was just about when I was going to do it and I achieved everything I wanted to in rugby, so I thought now was the perfect time.”
Kansas City head coach Andy Reid gave his evaluation of Rees-Zammit after the three-day minicamp.
“This was good for him — this camp, for that reason he got a lot of reps,” Reid said on May 6. “When the guys are here, he’s rotating in with those guys and he doesn’t get a ton of reps there. This gave him an opportunity to really jump in and learn. He’s so diligent with everything and wants to be so good at everything. I’ve appreciated that. You can see the progress he’s made. You guys saw that yesterday with the long run he had on the screen. I thought he was going to dive in the endzone but other than that it was good (laughter). He did good.”
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