Netflix’s Quarterback promised an honest look at the lives of signal callers on and off the field. And judging by early impressions after its release Wednesday, the show isn’t disappointing in its mission.
It seems even to be fueling the fire for what might be the NFL’s best rivalry.
One of the episodes features Patrick Mahomes discussing the Kansas City Chiefs’ outlook in last January’s AFC title game. After dispatching the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round, Mahomes had a frank conversation with his father about the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills on the other side of the AFC’s playoff bracket.
Mahomes not only backed the Bengals — who would eventually beat Buffalo on the road — he admitted he thought Cincinnati was a better team he simply wanted to play against because he’s a competitor.
I can’t emphasize enough how rare this kind of honesty is to be captured on camera:
This is why @Netflix “Quarterback” is so cool to watch. Here is Mahomes at his house after the divisional win over the Jags talking about how he thinks they matchup better vs the #Bills but he wants to play the #bengals because he’s a competitor and is “tired of them talking”. pic.twitter.com/d6bpFoKWCd
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) July 12, 2023
Mahomes would, of course, eventually get his wish as the Chiefs prevailed over the Bengals in an instant classic AFC title game matchup. Something says that if this video is hitting the airwaves now, we haven’t seen the last of heavyweight fights between Mahomes’ Chiefs and the No. 1 contender Bengals.
If anything, this should add more tension to Chiefs-Bengals in the years to come.