After playing one another six times in a four-season stretch, including a pair of epic postseason battles, the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals didn't square off this past year for the first time since the 2020 campaign.
But the rivalry will be renewed in 2026, as the two clubs are set for a Week 14 matchup in Cincinnati. And as he recently told the media following a practice during the Bengals' second phase of offseason workouts, Joe Burrow already has the December 13 date circled on his calendar and is very much looking forward to once again mixing it up with Patrick Mahomes.
"Hopefully, we're both going to be in different spots than we were last year," Burrow said. "I think we're going to have a really good team. Obviously, I think they'll have a really good team. And I think we play them in Week 14 or 15, so that'll be one leading up to the playoffs. Hopefully, we get two shots at them."
Joe Burrow has gotten the better of Patrick Mahomes over the years
It's certainly no secret that both KC and Cincy had 2025 campaigns to forget, as both clubs went 6-11. But it's actually because of those struggles that the two teams are clashing in 2026, as the only reason they're meeting is that both finished in third place in their respective divisions.
It'd be nice if the Chiefs could blame their dreadful season on Mahomes' season-ending knee injury, but that didn't happen until Week 15, and they were already 6-7 before falling that day to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Bengals can certainly use that excuse, though, as Burrow was sidelined for two and a half months after suffering a toe injury in Week 2.
Either way, you can see why Burrow said what he said about both teams being in a better spot. And while most wouldn't wish it upon themselves to take on the Chiefs in the postseason, it's actually understandable why Burrow said what he said about hoping to see Kansas City twice, as he's only one of two quarterbacks who've been able to keep Mahomes out of the Super Bowl by beating him in the AFC Championship Game, the other, of course, being Tom Brady.
And from an overall standpoint, Burrow has simply gotten the better of Mahomes over the years, winning three of the five head-to-head matchups between the two (he missed the 2023 regular-season game due to injury) and posting better numbers in the process.
In those five games, three in the regular season and two in the playoffs, Burrow has completed a combined 68.6 percent of his passes for 1,510 yards with 11 touchdowns against three interceptions, while Mahomes has connected on 68.0 percent of his passes for 1,234 yards with 10 touchdowns against four interceptions.
It's close, but Burrow still has the edge everywhere, and there really aren't any other quarterbacks who can say that. Mahomes still has the career edge, of course, what with the three Super Bowl wins and three Super Bowl MVPs and such, but one would assume that his history with Burrow bothers him a bit, given his competitive nature.
Assuming both are healthy come December, Mahomes will get his chance to even the score.
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