Joe Burrow Wants 'To Be the Best in the World'; Bengals QB Praises Patrick Mahomes

Having already established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Joe Burrow is hungry for more going into his fourth season.

The Cincinnati Bengals star told reporters on Tuesday that his goal for 2023 is "to be the best in the world." He added, "I don't think there's any debate" that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes currently owns that distinction.

Every quarterback in the NFL is chasing Mahomes right now. The Kansas City Chiefs star won his second MVP award after leading the NFL with 5,250 passing yards and 41 touchdowns in the regular season.

During Kansas City's playoff run, Mahomes threw for 703 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions in three games. The Chiefs have played in the AFC Championship Game in each of his five years as their starter, including three Super Bowl appearances.

Coming off a run to the Super Bowl in 2021, expectations were sky high for Burrow going into last season. He got off to a slow start with 1,316 passing yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions through the first five games, including a five-turnover game in a 23-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1.

Over the final 11 games of the regular season, Burrow threw for 3,159 yards, 26 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He was continuing on that upward trajectory in Cincinnati's first two playoff games before throwing two interceptions in a 23-20 loss to Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game.

The Bengals are the only NFL team that has three victories over Mahomes. If any quarterback can catch Kansas City's signal-caller at the top of the mountain, Burrow has as strong an argument as anyone.

Burrow does hold the distinction of being one of two quarterbacks who has defeated Mahomes in the playoffs. Tom Brady did it twice, in the 2018 AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LV in February 2021.

The Bengals and Chiefs will meet again at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 31 in Week 17 of the 2023 season.