Five historic storylines for Chiefs, Bengals in AFC Championship

Let’s not take this one for granted: The AFC Championship is loaded with historic storylines. We discuss the most interesting Championship game in a decade.

Don’t get this twisted. The game this Sunday night is the single most interesting game this season due to its loaded storylines. From Joe Burrow’s dominance against Kansas City to Patrick Mahomes’s bum ankle, we are discussing the many storylines that this matchup presents. There is little doubt that this will be a game talked about for years to come.

Let’s dive into the storylines in this game that are most notable.

1. Cincinnati could defeat the Chiefs four straight times.

Easily the biggest storyline in this week’s AFC Championship round is the fact that Joe Burrow and company have been so dominant against the Chiefs on a consistent basis. The Bengals are the only team during the Mahomes era to defeat the Chiefs three times. Further, they are the only team to do it in consecutive matchups.

Until the Chiefs can turn it around, the Bengals will always be viewed as the team that the Chiefs cannot compete with, no matter how close their matchups are and how teams score throughout the game. As the saying goes, “To be the best, you have to beat the best.”

On Sunday Night Football, Joe Burrow has a chance to truly elevate the national narrative to be about whether he should be considered a “1a” to Mahomes in terms of quarterback rankings. While Mahomes has certainly been the best quarterback in football during the last couple of years, Burrow has quietly been dominant in his shadow. Now, if he can win for a fourth straight time, not only will Burrow be anointed as the next great quarterback, but the Bengals will also be discussed as a preseason favorite for the next five seasons.

This game will set the tone for both how Joe Burrow is viewed in the national media and how seriously the Bengals are taken for the next several seasons.