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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase decided to add some more fuel to the team’s rivalry with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaking at the team’s mandatory minicamp on Wednesday, Chase was asked by a reporter about the best player in the NFL. While many believe Chiefs signal-caller Patrick Mahomes is at the top of the list, he begs to differ.
"Joe Burrow," Chase said. "Everybody knows that. That’s easy. MVP."
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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (William Purnell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Of course, Burrow wasn’t the one who was named MVP last season. It was Mahomes after he threw for 5,250 yards with 41 touchdowns to 12 interceptions and a 67.1% completion rate.
But Chase decided to throw some shade at Mahomes after someone said, "Pat," when trying to combat his Burrow comment.
"Who said Pat? Pat who?"
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This comes after Burrow said Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league: "I don't think there's an argument."
Chase doesn't care, though, as he has his quarterback above the rest, showing how much he believes in his potential.
It’s no secret the Bengals and Chiefs have a budding rivalry going after meeting in the AFC Championship Game over the past two seasons.
Even in the regular season, Burrow and the Bengals had owned the Chiefs, a perennial Super Bowl contender, until Mahomes was able to defeat them last season in the AFC Championship Game to move on to Super Bowl LVII, where they ended up taking care of the Philadelphia Eagles to win another Vince Lombardi trophy.
Leading up to that conference title game, though, the Bengals kept calling the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium "Burrowhead" instead, referencing the quarterback’s then-undefeated record there. Even Cincinnati’s mayor, Aftab Pureval, got involved by endorsing it.
However, that obviously backfired with the Chiefs’ victory at home, and tight end Travis Kelce made sure to bark back at the Bengals in his postgame presser as he usually does.
Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
The Chiefs and Bengals each have a trip to the Super Bowl in the past two seasons, though the Chiefs won their game while the Bengals fell to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in 2022. Both teams are expected to be contenders for it yet again during the 2023 NFL season, and if they are going to make it far, the stars must shine when it matters most.
That’s been no problem for Chase so far in his young career. He had 75 yards on six catches (eight targets) against the Chiefs in Arrowhead last year in the AFC Championship Game. He didn’t score then, but he had a touchdown in the wild-card round and divisional round to help the Bengals move on in the playoffs.
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For his career, Chase has 45 receptions for 588 yards and three touchdowns, and Cincy is 5-2 in playoff games he’s played in.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs own two Lombardi trophies since 2019. So, while Chase believes Burrow is the MVP of the league right now, Mahomes has the hardware to prove it.
Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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Perhaps Burrow turns it up a notch in the AFC North this season. He’s going to need Chase to continue producing the way he has to do so.