After the Cincinnati Bengals’ epic 2021 campaign, one of Joe Burrow’s former opponents just had to pay his respects to the young quarterback.
Former Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu saw firsthand what kind of damage Burrow could do to defenses, and consider him very impressed. When the Bengals beat the Chiefs twice to reach the Super Bowl last year, Joey B delivered on all fronts despite only playing in his first full season in the league.
Players and fans alike took notice of Burrow’s calmness under pressure in 2021, including Mathieu who recently spoke highly of Burrow on The Jordy Culotta Show.
"“I knew his mental makeup, but to be on the field with him and experience it in real time, it makes you experience it more. He doesn’t flinch. You gotta remember, both of the times we played them we were up. The first time we played them we were up 21-7. Then the second time we played them we were up 21-3. That’s championship composure.”"
Mathieu then compared Burrow to arguably the greatest of all time, Tom Brady.
"“When you piece together the mental and smarts of the game, he will be doing that for a long time. I see a lot of (Tom) Brady in him.”"
Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow gets showered with praise by an AFC competitor
Amid the deafening roar of the crowds at Arrowhead Stadium, Burrow put together two of his most masterful performances of his career thus far. In a regular season matchup against Kansas City, Burrow threw for 446 yards and four touchdowns and played a completely pick-free game.
In the AFC Championship, when the stakes were even higher, Burrow threw for 250 yards and recorded two touchdowns against one interception. His offense sputtered at times, and Cincy was also buoyed by Patrick Mahomes’ inexplicable collapse, but Burrow did it. He beat Mahomes twice.
Thankfully, the Bengals played the AFC West last year, so they’ll avoid Mahomes and Co. during the 2022 regular season.
The next time they play each other, though, Kansas City will likely be without Mathieu, who currently is a free agent and is actively looking for a new home.
Given Cincy’s needs and available cap space, the team probably won’t try to lure him over, but in this offseason? In this climate? Anything could happen.