Patrick Mahomes Can Out-Burrow Joe Burrow to Victory

A solution for the Chiefs could be operating like the opposing quarterback

The Cincinnati Bengals have spent the last two postseasons operating with a chip on their shoulder — sometimes manufactured.

Ian Rapoport @RapSheet

#Bengals coach Zac Taylor: “It is tough because they have to formulate the plans for coin tosses, formulate the plans for neutral site games & we just keep screwing it up for everybody. I hate that for people who have to endure all the logistical issues, we keep screwing it up.”

They ooze confidence every time they walk onto a field. They relish being the underdog, and have built a persona that thrives on stepping into someone else’s house and beating them.

The Chiefs melted down in epic fashion last season in the second half of the AFC Championship Game against this same Bengals team. They managed to blow a 21-3 lead, score only three points in the second half and overtime, and lost a third Lamar Hunt Trophy and Super Bowl appearance in the Patrick Mahomes era.

Mahomes shares a big portion of the blame for the team’s performance in the second half. He was flummoxed by Cincinnati’s drop 8 coverage and didn’t recover. He owned it and let it fuel him all offseason.

The Bengals aren’t sneaking up on anyone this week. In fact, they’ll likely be favored to win this game in Arrowhead by the time Sunday rolls around. That’s in large part to the high ankle injury that Mahomes sustained in the Chiefs’ Divisional Round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mahomes will play on Sunday, but the question all week will be how effective he will be able to be. The timeline for recovery from a high ankle sprain is usually 4-6 weeks. He’ll be trying to be functional in 8 days.

Mahomes gutted through the second half on one leg. No one can question his toughness, commitment to the game, and will to win. He’s tougher than nails. Who knows, how his body will respond in a short amount of time after the adrenaline wears off.

It’s the Mahomes and the Chiefs’ turn to play the underdog role in this matchup. An unfamiliar territory.

So how can a hobbled Mahomes navigate this game with limited mobility? Well, we have a small sample size from last week’s game. If he’s going to pull off yet another big win for his legacy, Mahomes will have to pull a page or two out of the playbook that the quarterback lining up across from him subscribes to — Bengals’ star Joe Burrow.