Joe Burrow Praises Patrick Mahomes Ahead of Chiefs Matchup: 'He's the Best Right Now'

Ahead of their first head-to-head meeting since the AFC Championship Game, Joe Burrow had nothing but positive things to say about Patrick Mahomes.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Burrow called the Kansas City Chiefs superstar "the best right now."

"He's been playing the best all year," he added. "There really hasn't been a lot of people like him come through the game."

There were questions coming into this season about what the Chiefs offense would look like after Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins.

Mahomes has answered those questions in grand fashion. He leads the NFL with 3,585 passing yards, 29 passing touchdowns and is the front-runner to win his second MVP award.

The Chiefs lead the league in points per game (29.6) and are having a historic offensive season by expected points added per drive:

The Bengals haven't been playing at that level, but they are hardly pushovers going into this matchup. They have scored at least 30 points in four of their past six games. Burrow is completing 71.1 percent of his attempts for 1,844 yards and 18 touchdowns during that span.

Per The Athletic's David Lombardi, Mahomes (.299) and Burrow (.248) rank second and third in EPA per dropback among all quarterbacks this season. Tua Tagovailoa is the only player ahead of them (.430).

Burrow and the Bengals stunned Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game in January. They outscored Kansas City 17-3 after halftime to earn 27-24 overtime victory and their first Super Bowl appearance since 1988.

Mahomes threw two interceptions in the loss, including on the Chiefs' first possession in overtime to set up Evan McPherson's game-winning field goal.

Cincinnati will host Sunday's contest between the two AFC contenders. The Chiefs are currently the No. 1 seed in the playoff standings with a 9-2 record. The Bengals are 7-4 and tied with the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC North.