NFL

He's playing at an MVP level – Taylor hails Burrow as Bengals down Mahomes' Chiefs again

By Sports Desk December 05, 2022

Joe Burrow got the better of Patrick Mahomes once again and is playing at an "MVP level" according to his Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor.

The Bengals earned a 27-24 triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium and moved to 8-4 for the season.

Burrow was once again influential as he moved to a perfect 3-0 in games played against quarterback rival Mahomes, whose Chiefs sit at 9-3.

The 25-year-old completed 25 of his 31 passes, including touchdown passes to Tee Higgins in the second quarter and Chris Evans in the last, with Evans' score putting the Bengals up for good.

"He's playing at an MVP level – absolutely," Taylor said. "He gives us a lot of confidence."

Burrow's outing also included running in a four-yard score and converting on a couple of third-down passes to Ja'Marr Chase and Higgins that allowed the Bengals to run down the clock.

After the game, Burrow said: "We left some points on the field, but we still find a way to win.

"We've still got five weeks left. Let's keep this train rolling. This team knows what it takes to win these games. We've been there. It's December. It's time to separate ourselves."

Wide receiver Chase missed the previous four games with a hip injury and last year's Offensive Rookie of the Year caught seven passes for 97 yards on a brilliant return.

"I was surprised at how quickly he was looking like the same Ja'Marr, even in practice last week. He's a freak," Taylor added.

Mahomes finished the game with 16 of 27 passes completed for 223 yards and a touchdown, while running in for another score.

But the Chiefs quarterback rued some costly mistakes.

"We started off slow, we got back in the game, into the flow of things and [then] we had a turnover late and a missed kick," he said.

"In the fourth quarter, those are the things that kind of bite you at the end."

Related items

  • Cousins throws for 509 yards, 4 touchdowns in Falcons' OT win over Buccaneers Cousins throws for 509 yards, 4 touchdowns in Falcons' OT win over Buccaneers

    Kirk Cousins passed for a career-high 509 yards and four touchdowns, the last of them a 45-yard scoring pass to KhaDarel Hodge in overtime that gave the Atlanta Falcons an improbable 36-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.

    After a wild fourth quarter that featured a blocked field goal, a fumble and an interception, Cousins and the Falcons (3-2) got the ball back at their own 20 with 1:14 remaining in regulation and no timeouts, trailing 30-27.

    Cousins completed five passes to push Atlanta to the Buccaneers 29, then hustled to the line to spike the ball with a single second on the clock. In all the confusion, the Falcons were called for delay of game as they lined up for a tying field goal, but it didn't cost them.

    Younghoe Koo knocked it through from 52 yards to force overtime, one week after he made a 58-yarder with 2 seconds left to beat the New Orleans Saints.

    The Falcons won the coin toss in overtime and made sure Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers (3-2) didn't get their hands on the ball again. Cousins connected with Drake London on a couple of passes before throwing one over the middle to Hodge, who split the secondary and raced untouched to the end zone to end the game.

  • Chiefs place top wide receiver Rice on injured reserve Chiefs place top wide receiver Rice on injured reserve

    Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid told the media Thursday the team was waiting for swelling to go down on Rashee Rice's knee before performing additional tests.

    Three hours later, the Chiefs had enough information to know he'll be side-lined for at least one month.

    The Chiefs placed Rice on injured reserve later Thursday, meaning he will out for a minimum of four weeks.

    Rice was injured in last Sunday's 17-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and it was reported he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

    There has been no update on the extent of the injury, but a torn ACL would side-line him for the rest of the season.

    The second-year receiver was injured on a bizarre play when he collided with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who inadvertently dove into Rice's knee as the two team-mates were attempting to tackle Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton on an interception return.

    Rice was carted off to the locker room shortly after leaving the field and eventually ruled out of the game.

     

    His injury is the latest blow to a Kansas City team that is already without leading rusher Isiah Pacheco, who is recovering from a fractured fibula he sustained in Week 2.

    It also leaves Mahomes without his top target, as Rice led the NFL with 24 receptions through this season's first three weeks.

    No other Kansas City player had double-digit receptions entering Week 4, though Travis Kelce finally took on a larger role in the offence.

    The veteran tight end had seven receptions for 89 yards against the Chargers after catching eight passes for 69 yards in the first three games.

    Despite losing two of their top play-makers, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are 4-0 heading into their Week 5 Monday night game against the New Orleans Saints.

  • 'It was a good day' - Goff proud of setting new NFL record 'It was a good day' - Goff proud of setting new NFL record

    Jared Goff was proud of making history, as he set an NFL single-game record by completing all 18 of his pass attempts to help the Detroit Lions to victory.

    The Lions beat the previously unbeaten Seattle Seahawks 42-29 on Monday, with Goff eclipsing Hall of Famer Kurt Warner's 10-for-10 performance in 2005, the previous standard for most passes in a game without an incompletion.

    The quarterback threw for 292 yards, including touchdown passes to Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown on his perfect evening, while also hauling in the latter's 7-yard toss for a touchdown in the third quarter.

    That made him the first quarterback with a receiving touchdown since Zach Wilson in 2022, while he also became the first QB in NFL history with 15 or more pass attempts with no incompletions in a game.

    Goff was aware that he was closing in on a perfect game, even if he had doubts at one point.

    "I knew I did it in the first half last week, so I was aware of it then, and I was kind of aware of it today in the middle of the third quarter," he said.

    "I couldn't think of one [incompletion], but then I threw the one out of bounds that ended up being offensive pass interference, and I was like, 'Does that count?' I didn't know if that counted or not.

    "But yeah, it was a good day."

    On his touchdown reception, he added: "No, I think that's my first one, too. Ever.

    "And I'm saying all the way back to 7 years old, I think that's my first one."

    Lions coach Dan Campbell did not realise how impressive Goff's performance had been after the game, choosing to give the game ball to Williams and safety Kerby Joseph for their strong play.

    "I just gave the game ball to somebody else," Campbell laughed. "So, I feel awful right now.

    "I knew he played a heck of a game. I did not realize he was perfect. I did not know he was literally 18 for 18.

    "I thought what really kick-started him was that he had to move a little in the pocket, got spun around and hung with Jamo [Williams] and hit him on the hook for the first down, that was big because he was rolling after that."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.