Maybe it's a little too early to give Joe Burrow a gold jacket, or claim he's the NFL's best quarterback. But the Cincinnati Bengals' huge comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game on Sunday allowed the former top-overall pick to leapfrog Patrick Mahomes as the conference's top signal-caller, and pump the brakes on the Chiefs' dynasty talk.
On the same weekend rumors swirled about Tom Brady's potential retirement, a matchup between two young quarterbacks -- poised to dominate the AFC for the next decade -- provided a glimpse into the league's future. If games ended at halftime, Kansas City would've left Arrowhead Stadium victorious, bound for its third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
Four straight conference title games, three straight Super Bowl appearances, and a pair of Lombardi Trophies would've pushed the popular "D-word" back into circulation, and for good reason. The Chiefs have imposed their will over most of the NFL's teams, and appeared unbeatable at times. Only NFL games last 60 minutes, and Burrow had an eye-of-the-tiger response to the Chiefs' first-half dominance.
In Brady-esque fashion, Burrow -- who missed the final six games of his 2020 rookie season -- led the most unlikely come-from-behind victory of this year's playoffs, after trailing 21-3. He saved his best for the end game, completing 6 of 7 passes with two first-down conversions on the ground across the team's final two drives. Give credit to the Bengals' defense for holding the Chiefs to just three second-half points, but there's no way they win without Burrow.
Beating Mahomes twice in a season allows Burrow to sit in the king's throne at the table for top quarterbacks. Erasing two-score deficits in both games is that much more impressive. In a sense, beating Mahomes is a rite of passage, one that allows a player to be acknowledged as elite. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, one of the other top signal-callers in the NFL, has been unable to unlock this coveted achievement, and thus will be considered inferior until proven otherwise.
There'll certainly be a rematch between Mahomes and Burrow at some point, as this duel has a very Brady-Payton Manning type of feel to it. But, for now, the up-and-comer has imposed his superiority over the one-time champion. In fact, Burrow's early career accomplishments are perhaps more impressive.
Burrow reached a Super Bowl in his first full season as the starter, while it took Mahomes two years at the helm to get to one. Burrow had to come back from a gruesome knee injury that many quarterbacks never fully recover from, after just 10 games as a pro. He also didn't get the benefit of a redshirt season, and was thrust into the fire with a weak offensive line. Oh, and he's led a franchise that, prior to this January, hadn't won a playoff game since 1991.
What's Mahomes counter? Of course he achieved an uncharacteristic level of success early on. But when comparing elite level players, we're allowed to get nitpicky. Mahomes is still a generational talent, but for the foreseeable future, he's going to face stark competition from Burrow for the AFC's top spot. And by default, Mahomes has been thrusted from that top spot.
Like Brady, Burrow also has an underdog type of feel to him. He backed up J.T. Barrett (who currently plays for the Edmonton Elks) at Ohio State before transferring to LSU. Ascended from being a little-known college player to the top pick in the 2019 draft, and has turned around the trajectory of a team that was once so desperate for success, they became content with Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton's mediocrity. Sound familiar? Yeah, there's a comparison to be made.
"I wouldn't call it surreal, I would say it's exciting," Burrow told reporters about going to Super Bowl 56. "If you would've told me before the season that we'd be going to the Super Bowl, I probably would've called you crazy, but then we played a whole season, and nothing surprises me now." Football fans have to love the quiet confidence that Burrow oozes. A former national champion in college, he's played under the brightest of lights, and knows what it takes to win at a high level. No reason to be rattled if you've been there and done that. Burrow's belief in himself and his teammates has played a massive role in the Bengals' ability to fight through adversity. Everyone is rallying around him.
What's most exciting is that this is only the beginning for Burrow. With just 26 starts under his belt, the ceiling appears to be even higher, and he has a great supporting cast to grow with. Eventually, he'll need to win a ring to solidify his spot in league history. But after a signature, statement win, it's clear bad-boy Burrow will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Jack Stern is a columnist and an associate producer for CBS Sports Radio. You can follow him on Twitter @J_Stern97.