Ranking the Best QB Matchups of the 2022 NFL Season After Schedule Release

That book is far from written, though, and we'll be treated to the next chapter in this one.Where: Paul Brown Stadium, CincinnatiWhen: January 2 (Week 17, Monday Night Football)The Ravens and Bills are hoping to be in the Super Bowl mix this season, but it was the upstart Cincinnati Bengals, led by Joe Burrow, who claimed the Lamar Hunt Trophy last year.The Bengals are kings of the AFC for now. Toward the end of the regular sseason, they'll face Josh Allen and the Bills for the first time in the Burrow era.There will be plenty at stake in this matchup, as Buffalo and Cincinnati are both expected to be Super Bowl contenders again this season. However, their rivalry dates back to Brady's time with the New England Patriots.Brady bested Mahomes in a 43-40 thriller during the 2018 regular season, and he then guided the Pats to an AFC Championship Game victory over Mahomes' Chiefs a few months later before winning Super Bowl LIII. This will be a tremendous measuring stick for both teams and quite possibly the hottest game of the opening month.Where: Paul Brown Stadium, CincinnatiWhen: December 4 (Week 13)Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes don't have an extensive history quite yet, but the rivalry should be plenty heated after last season.The Chiefs and Bengals faced off in Week 17, with Cincinnati claiming a come-from-behind 34-31 victory. Kansas City mustered only a field goal after the Bengals reeled off 21 unanswered points, and Mahomes never got the ball back after throwing an interception on the Chiefs' opening drive in overtime."It still hurts," Mahomes said over Pro Bowl weekend, per NFL Media's Kevin Patra.Burrow has supplanted Mahomes as the top dog in the AFC quarterback race for now, but Mahomes is assuredly looking to reclaim the crown. It will come at a point in the season where the winner might just take control of the AFC race for good.Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa When: September 25 (Week 3)Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are two of the best quarterbacks of their generation, and one could argue that they were the NFL's best signal-callers in 2021. Both quarterbacks have a chance to win it all in 2022 and may have to go through one another in the postseason to reach the Super Bowl.This is another early one, but it should be a thrilling potential playoff preview.Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas CityWhen: October 16 (Week 6)This one is relatively early in the season, and for some reason, the schedule-makers didn't put it in prime time. Under the new rules, Buffalo would have had a chance to answer Kansas City's touchdown drive in overtime.In other words: The last time Mahomes and Allen faced off, we got a game so good that it altered the way the NFL operates?