Not Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals Are The “Biggest Threat” To Chiefs’ Three-Peat: Ric Bucher

The Kansas City Chiefs are eyeing a historic three-peat, aiming to become the first team ever to win three consecutive Super Bowls. But the burning question in every NFL enthusiast’s mind is which team will be their biggest obstacle on the road to New Orleans? Will it be the Baltimore Ravens or maybe the Cincinnati Bengals? This hot topic sparked a lively debate on a recent episode of FS1’s “SPEAK.”

Former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho kicked things off by tapping the Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore Ravens as the Chiefs’ main contenders. However, Fox Sports Analyst Ric Bucher had a different take, dismissing the Ravens and instead pointing to the Cincinnati Bengals as the team to watch.

Bucher spoke his mind when it came to the Bengals-Chiefs rivalry. He highlighted that the Bengals hold an impressive 3-1 record against Kansas City in their last four matchups. The lone Chiefs victory came in the 2021-22 AFC Championship game, where Joe Burrow “threw more interceptions than touchdowns.”

“They’ve beaten them when they had a mediocre defense, they’ve beaten them when they only rushed for 60 yards, they’ve beaten them without Joe Mixon, they’ve beaten them when the Chiefs got 10 hits on Joe Burrow,” Bucher pointed out. “They’ve beaten them under every circumstance, and they’ve beaten them in Arrowhead.”

Bucher went on to magnify that since Joe Burrow took the reins, Cincinnati has outperformed Kansas City in head-to-head battles. Even when faced with adversity, the Bengals have found ways to outsmart Patrick Mahomes and company, except in one instance.

Mahomes’s One Victory Against Burrow

While Mahomes has dominated the field since his draft, there are two QBs he has not managed to get a winning record against: Brady and Burrow. He may have won three Super Bowl rings, but he has only managed to best Burrow eleven in four head-to-head matchups.

It was the 2022-23 AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium showdown between the two QBs that saw Mahomes emerge with an upper hand in a 23-20 win, but not without a fight.

While the Chiefs had a 17-6 lead going into halftime, the Bengals came back stronger, clawing their way back up, and turned in four field goals in the second half. Then came “Mahomes time” as he worked his magic, converting a huge third down to set up Harrison Butker’s game-winning kick. However, just like Ric Bucher, not many were fooled by these numbers, considering how clutch it had been.

With Burrow out with an injury last season, the Chiefs QB didn’t get an opportunity to rectify that losing record. Will he get his chance this season?