The Cincinnati Bengals may have started the "Burrowhead" narrative, but it was the Kansas City Chiefs who took it and ran away with it in the 2022 postseason.
The Bengals suffered a heartbreaking loss in Sunday's AFC Championship game which featured the whole gamut of blown calls, insane throws, and plenty of chirpy attitude. Cincy's playoff defeat adds a notch in the loss column in their otherwise pristine record against Kansas City in the last two years.
In the last three meetings, the Bengals bested the Chiefs. This time, Patrick Mahomes finally got redemption, and he and his teammates didn't hold back after the win.
Travis Kelce: "WOOOO! Burrowhead my ass."pic.twitter.com/T64OlhlNba
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 30, 2023
In the week leading up to the game, Chiefs players had frequently clapped back at what Bengals players and fans snarkily dubbed "Burrowhead," referring to Joe Burrow's dominance against the Chiefs to the extent that his name takes over Arrowhead Stadium.
Kelce's denounciation of the nickname echoes that of other Chiefs players including Chris Jones who used it ironically in a pre-game presser. The mayor of Cincinnati even dropped it in a cringe-inducing statement released ahead of the game -- and boy, did Kelce make sure the mayor felt the championship loss in his incendiary comments afterward.
Bengals and Chiefs alike can finally stop referencing 'Burrowhead' now
The Chiefs and Bengals alike have bashed us in the heads with the "Burrowhead" moniker over and over again this postseason. Please, let it stop.
Joe Burrow is good. Patrick Mahomes is good. Both of these things can be true and both can exist in the same conference. In the AFC Championship, Burrow admittedly recorded one of his less productive games, putting up 270 passing yards and one touchdown against two interceptions for a 70.2 overall quarterback rating, but he's still got a bright future ahead of him.
As Burrow himself said, the Bengals' Super Bowl window is his career. And rather than litter his legacy with trite phrases, why not just be grateful for the rare, unfolding spectacle of watching two generational quarterbacks duel it out year after year? Is their combined magic and sorcery not enough? Are you not entertained?
Last postseason, Burrow and the Bengals earned the AFC crown as the never-say-die underdogs years ahead of schedule. This postseason, Mahomes' unbroken resilience won out in the end.
As long as Burrow and Mahomes keep rising to new heights and building a rivalry for the ages, there's no need to keep comparing one to the other. Who cares if they play at Arrowhead or Burrowhead?
Witnessing these two stars in the prime of their careers is the best thing to happen to the franchises involved and the fans who love the game.