Getty Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton.
The Kansas City Chiefs lost at home to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game in 2022. With a rematch set to take place on Sunday, January 29, a Bengals defender decided to take a shot at the AFC West champions as Cincinnati was wrapping up their win over the Buffalo Bills during the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
“We’ll see ya’ll in Burrowhead,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said in the video captured by NFL Films.
Burrowhead 📍
“Burrowhead” is in reference to Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and his success at Arrowhead Stadium in recent memory.
The last time Cincinnati traveled to Arrowhead, which was for the 2022 AFC Championship, Burrow completed 60% of his passes for 250 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. He also threw 1 interception.
While his stats didn’t exactly jump off the page, Burrow and the rest of the Bengals squad did enough to send the Chiefs home with a loss. That was apparently enough to merit trash talk from Hilton ahead of the Chiefs-Bengals rematch.
Chiefs Haven’t Cracked Code to Beat Bengals
Unfortunately for Kansas City, recent history doesn’t bode in its favor when it comes to advancing to the Super Bowl this season.
After losing to Cincinnati 27-24 in last season’s AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs then lost to the Bengals again by the same exact score in Week 13 of this season. That marked three straight losses for the Chiefs to the Bengals in a 12-month period (KC also lost to Cincy 34-31 on January 2, 2022).
In the December 4 outing, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow completed 80% of his passes (25 of 31) for 286 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. He was only sacked once in that game, and Cincinnati didn’t commit a single turnover in the outing at Paycor Stadium.
For those that don’t remember, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had a costly fourth-quarter fumble in that game against Cincinnati that set the Bengals up for a game-winning touchdown. Kansas City had the opportunity to send the game to overtime with a made field goal, but Harrison Butker missed from 55 yards out with 3:24 left in the game.
Costly fumble from Travis Kelce. 😬
(🎥: @NFL)
Against the Bills — who also beat the Chiefs in the regular season — and in the snow, the Bengals came out of Buffalo with a victory in the AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Despite having three offensive linemen out with injuries in the 27-10 victory, Burrow completed 23-of-36 pass attempts for 242 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. He was also only sacked once. His efforts, bundled with a strong running game and defensive play, were too much for the Bills’ squad to handle.
The Bengals offense started fast and dominated the Bills defense. Joe Burrow 4-4 for 64 Yards capped off with a Ja’Marr Chase 28 yard TD catch. Perfect start to the game! #RuleThePlayoffs #RuleTheJungle
To beat Cincinnati in the AFC Title Game, Kansas City will have to be nearly flawless on both sides of the football. That’s easier said than done, especially when considering that quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be playing on a sprained ankle.
Twitter Reacts to Hilton’s Diss
Twitter users reacted to Hilton throwing shade at the Chiefs.
“Bruh this ish is cool. These guys are having a bunch of fun right now. All good,” one Twitter user wrote. “But if the chiefs win, y’all need to be ready for the ish talking too.”
@zimwhodey @EliApple @MikeHilton_28 @CamTaylorBritt_ Bruh this ish is cool. These guys are having a bunch of fun right now. All good. But if the chiefs win, y’all need to be ready for the ish talking too 😂
“Running his mouth and saying the wrong thing is what got Trevor Lawrence his first loss on a Saturday…At ARROWHEAD!” another user wrote.
@zimwhodey @MikeHilton_28 @EliApple @CamTaylorBritt_ Running his mouth and saying the wrong thing is what got Trevor Lawrence his first loss on a Saturday… 🗣📢 At ARROWHEAD!
“Can’t wait until Burrow gets paid and the roster gets depleted,” another user wrote. “No way he does as well as Mahomes has done in the ‘Big Contract’ phase. Bengals may be better overall because they are on a rookie QB contract. Better cash in while they can as the bill is coming due soon.”
@zimwhodey @MikeHilton_28 @EliApple @CamTaylorBritt_ Can’t wait until Burrow gets paid and the roster gets depleted. No way he does as well as Mahomes has done in the “Big Contract” phase. Bengals may be better overall because they are on a rookie QB contract. Better cash in while they can as the bill is coming due soon.