Chris Mueller: Joe the Great the next long-term headache for Steelers

Ask Steelers fans what they think Kenny Pickett’s best-case scenario looks like, and they’ll likely say he turns into something close to Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow.

Having just borne witness to what Burrow did to the favored Buffalo Bills, in Buffalo, in the snow, I’ll say this much: Pickett had better turn into a superstar, or it’s hard to fathom the Steelers having much chance against Cincinnati, whether it’s beating them out for the AFC North title, or getting past them in the playoffs.

Burrow is just that good. Better, actually.

Cincinnati needs to win a Super Bowl for him to fully realize his greatness, yes, but as tough as that is, it seems like a matter of “when” and not “if,” and the “when” might be in about three weeks.

I think they’ll get back to the big game, at the very least. I’m predicting a little déjà vu all over again; Cincinnati will go into Kansas City and win the AFC Championship for the second year in a row. Patrick Mahomes being hobbled by a high ankle sprain that renders him far from 100 plays a factor in that prediction, but to be honest, I’d pick Cincinnati even if Mahomes was fully healthy.

Burrow has his number, has the Chiefs’ number. He’s 3-0 against them in his career, including an 18-point rally to punch last year’s Super Bowl ticket. And while Mahomes is otherworldly when he’s on, and is the best quarterback in the league, I will brook no debate about Burrow being second, and closing fast.

He doesn’t have Mahomes’ overall gifts, which sometimes transcend explanation. He doesn’t have Josh Allen’s rifle arm and rugged blend of size and strength. He doesn’t have Jalen Hurts’ mobility or physicality. He doesn’t look like he was created in a quarterback lab, like Justin Herbert or Trevor Lawrence.

In fact, the reason so many Steelers fans hopefully compare him with Pickett is that the two are similar in stature; Burrow is an inch taller, Pickett likely a little bit bulkier. Pickett is maybe a touch faster, though Burrow’s know-how and anticipation makes him look quicker in games, at least to me.

The main reasons Burrow went No. 1 overall is that, while he’s good to very good at everything, his accuracy is uncanny, matched only by his swagger and confidence, which are off the charts.

Burrow walks around with the air of someone who knows he’s going to win before the game is played, and he almost always backs it up. If he had completed a desperation dump-off pass in last year’s Super Bowl, we may be talking about his quest to defend a title.

It didn’t matter against the Bills that 60 percent of his starting offensive line was out, or that his center got banged up during the game. Burrow just came out and dominated from the opening drive, marching right down the field and hitting Ja’Marr Chase for a touchdown, and more or less doing whatever he wanted after that.

Truth be told, Buffalo never really had a chance. The Bengals were completely in command from the start.

Burrow will never wow you like Allen with a 60-yard frozen rope on the run. He won’t typically perform the kind of borderline magic tricks that Mahomes has made commonplace. He won’t do most of the things that Hurts, Lawrence or Herbert do on a weekly basis that elicit delighted gasps from the football cognoscenti.

What he will do is go out, get the ball to the right guy at the right time, make some preposterously accurate throws ― one to Chase, for my money the NFL’s best receiver, was at first ruled a touchdown, then overturned, which does nothing to detract from how absurdly great it was ― and generally do everything and anything necessary to get a win.

Break the pocket for a few timely scrambles when the pressure closes in? He ran six times for 31 yards against the Bills. Seize the advantage after the Bills went three-and-out after Cincinnati’s opening score? Burrow took his team 72 yards in 10 plays, then hit Hayden Hurst on third and seven ― the Bengals’ only third down play (thanks to a Carlos Basham offsides) for a 15-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

He responded to the Bills’ only touchdown with a lengthy field-goal drive to put Cincinnati back up 10, then, after Buffalo cut the lead to 17-10 to open the second half, he took the Bengals 75 yards in 12 plays and nearly six-and-a-half minutes and all but put the game away with another touchdown.

If he broke a sweat or looked even momentarily rattled during any of this, I missed it. He’s got plenty of charisma, and isn’t shy about making bold proclamations, but once he gets on the field, he more resembles a soul-destroying cyborg. He’s the Terminator. Why anyone would bet against him at this point is beyond me.

Forgot to mention it, but the way Burrow plays the position, and the way he raises his game when he’s going up against other elite quarterbacks makes him an absolute treat to watch.

I understand if the Steelers don’t exactly share my sentiment.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Mueller: Joe the Great the next long-term headache for Steelers