Joe Burrow is a fan favorite. Fans voted him 3rd in the 2025 Pro Bowl voting for the quarterback. Also, he became the first QB in the NFL to have 3000+ passing yards, achieving this milestone in the week 11 game against the Chargers. Though the Bengals have struggled this season, he has been exceptionally well. Now, an NFL legend has also praised his talent. It’s a big deal.
The legendary Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman appeared on 105.3 The Fan on December 9 episode. He had some choice words for Burrow which were, “He, without question, is my favorite quarterback in the NFL, maybe my favorite player of all time, for that matter. I just love everything about him, especially in today’s NFL, where you just don’t see these types of players. He’s an old school quarterback. He could’ve played in the ’90s.” That’s great.
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However, Joe Burrow’s success has not translated into success for his team. After week 13, the Bengals were 3rd in their AFC North division and 10th in their conference. They aren’t eliminated yet, but the week 14 game against the Cowboys is extremely crucial. There are other quarterbacks whose performance has helped the team to gain wins on the gridiron.
A prime example is Josh Allen, as the Bills sit comfortably in the playoffs with a 10-3 record after week 14. Another example is the Detroit Lions, who are also into the playoffs with a 12-1 win-loss record courtesy the outstanding performances of their quarterback Jared Goff. Aikman accepted those comparisons with a differentiating factor.
While the Cowboys great didn’t claim if Burrow as the best among the current generation, he did point his throwing style and added, “I don’t know if he’s the best quarterback in the game today, obviously you’ve got Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, but (Burrow) throws with anticipation better than anybody currently playing the game.” That’s an interesting statement.
There is some history behind the Chiefs QB and Troy Aikman. It started when the Grim Reaper was in the early stage of his career.
How did Patrick Mahomes forced Joe Burrow’s admirer Troy Aikman to take back his words?
For those of you who don’t know, let’s go back in 2019. It was Chiefs QB’s third NFL season. The Athletic tweeted that Patrick Mahomes has 36% of Aikman’s career touchdowns in 8% of his games. The legend did not like that, and replied, “iCYMI: Talk to me when when he has 33% of my Super Bowl Titles.” Years later, the story has flipped on him.
CBS writer Shehan Jeyarajah came up with an interesting stat that was, “Patrick Mahomes has thrown 132% of Troy Aikman’s passing touchdowns and won 100% of his Super Bowls in about 58% of his career games.” Let’s check the numbers.
Player Duration Regular Season Games Touchdowns Playoff Games Touchdowns Troy Aikman 1989-2000 165 165 16 23 Patrick Mahomes 2017-2024 (week 14) 109 239 18 41
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Clearly, Mahomes is ahead of the legend. Even in the Super Bowl aspect, Mahomes has won the same number of Super Bowls (3) as Troy Aikman. The legend might have regretted his words. However, we would say that the stats don’t show an accurate comparison of two different eras. It was a different time back then.
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All said and done, all three of them, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, and Troy Aikman, are superstars of the league. Fans love and adore them. That’s the beauty of the game.