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.