If you were to make a list of all the quarterbacks who could dethrone Patrick Mahomes, it would be short.

And even though he and his team lost narrowly 26-25 to the Chiefs last Sunday, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow would make this list, having won three of his five duels with Mahomes so far in his career.

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Despite starting the season with two straight losses, former New York Giant Jason Bell is confident that Burrow and his star-studded cast will get back on track on Monday night against rookie playmaker Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders.

“I’m going to go for Burrow,” Bell told talkSPORT when asked to choose between himself and Daniels.

“Because I believe in Burrow. Anyone who knows me knows that I will wear a Joe Burrow jersey if I have one they can send me. That hasn’t happened yet, but listen, Joe Burrow has shown you what he can do.”

Selected second in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders after an outstanding final season at LSU in which he won the Heisman Trophy, Daniels has made a promising start to his professional career.

Of the six quarterbacks selected in the first round of the most recent draft, only Daniels and first-round pick Caleb Williams had led their teams to victory after two weeks of the new season – Bo Nix managed a third victory in Week 3.

Daniel’s first win came against Bell’s former team in New York, where six field goals helped the Commanders to a 21-18 victory.

Despite Daniels’ promising entry into the NFL, Bell believes he still has a long way to go before he reaches the level of Burrow, who also won the Heisman award during his time at LSU.

“Daniels is a talent,” Bell said. “He still has to overcome rookie mistakes. Joe Burrow is a proven player.”

“As long as he’s healthy, when he’s on the field, the team always has a chance. They’re always competitive. Jayden Daniels will be fine, but right now I’m betting on Burrow.”

As a teammate of two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning on the Giants, Bell knows a thing or two about what it takes to lead a team at the NFL level.

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“I love Joe Burrow, I really do,” Bell continued. “There are a lot of quarterbacks I would follow throughout my career – guys I look up to. Joe Burrow is one of those guys I would love to play with.”

Burrow scored two touchdowns and threw for over 250 yards without a single interception in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs, and while he won’t be happy with the end result, it represents a significant improvement over his Week 1 performance.

The Bengals began the season with a dismal 16-10 loss to the New England Patriots, but Burrow and Co. are used to slow starts, starting 0-2 in each of the last three seasons.

Burrow has a record of just 1-9 in Weeks 1 and 2 of the season.

In two of those seasons, the Bengals reached the AFC Championship game twice and the Super Bowl once, but lost to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.

Burrow’s team sits last in the AFC North on Monday, while Daniels’ Commanders have a chance to move to the top of the NFC East with a win.

If Burrow and the Bengals fall to 0-3 on Monday night, they can all but kiss the postseason goodbye.

Since 1990, 162 teams have started the season with a 0-3 record. Only four of these teams made it to the playoffs.

That’s 2.5%.

In other words, Burrow and the Bengals must win on Monday night if they want to keep their Super Bowl aspirations alive.

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