The Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs’ rivalry has kept many fans on the edge of their seats in recent years. With two elite quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, along with a strong cast of supporting characters on each side, it’s been one of the more interesting matchups in recent seasons. The two sides have even met in the AFC Championship twice since 2022.
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When the Bengals beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City in 2022, they went on to dub the stadium “Burrowhead.” It was a funny joke that even the mayor of Cincinnati joined in on. Except his comments upset one Travis Kelce, who eventually called him a j*broni when they beat the Bengals at Arrowhead in the 2023 AFC Championship.
Since then, the “Burrowhead” label has died down quite a bit. In fact, they haven’t beaten the Chiefs in Arrowhead at all in their three matchups since that 2022 win. That’s why one of Burrow’s teammates, offensive lineman Ted Karras, thinks people should stop using the phrase.
“We haven’t won in there since we said it, so let’s stop saying it,” Karras said on Games with Names.
In the 2023 AFC Championship Game, the Bengals and Burrow did their best to keep pace with their rival. But Harrison Butker drilled a game-winning field goal through the uprights with 3 seconds left in the game. The following year, they matched up in the regular season. After Cincinnati went up 17-7, 8 minutes into the second quarter, they got outscored 18-0 behind six Butker field goals, losing 25-17.
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Most football fans remember last year’s contest between the two teams. It was another example of the Chiefs defying the odds. On a 4th & 16 with 40 seconds left in the game, Mahomes launched a desperation pass downfield that was broken up. It was a pass deflection that saved the game for Burrow and the Bengals, as they were about to get the ball back, and KC had no timeouts.
Or so we thought. After the play, a late flag was thrown, and a referee called defensive pass interference on the Bengals. Upon reviewing the replay, fans were upset when they saw the Cincinnati defender hit the Chiefs receiver milliseconds before the ball got there. It was a bang-bang play where fans would’ve liked to see no call, given the circumstances.
But the penalty stood, setting the Chiefs up in excellent field position. All they had to do was align the kick, and they won 26-25 as time expired. Burrow could only watch from the sidelines as the chaos unfolded.
Thus, the Burrowhead nickname hasn’t proved fruitful since its inception. The Chiefs have successfully stamped them out through some gutsy performances. And that makes Karras completely right: it’s time to stop using the slogan. It was fun while it lasted, though.
