Getty Image / Rob Carr
There is a new rivalry developing in the AFC.
The past couple of years, football fans have been expecting the big rivalry in the conference to be between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
That rivalry hasn’t quite developed as expected with the Chiefs knocking the Bills out of the playoffs in the Divisional Round and the Bills not even making it to a playoff matchup with the Chiefs this season.
Instead, it has been the Cincinnati Bengals that have stepped up as the rival to the Kansas City Chiefs these past two years.
In fact, not only have the Bengals stepped up as their rival, they’ve actually dominated the Chiefs the past couple of years.
They have won both regular season meetings between the teams over the past 2 seasons and took the Chiefs down at Arrowhead Stadium in last year’s AFC Championship Game to secure a spot in the Super Bowl.
That dominance, has led to Bengals players renaming the Chiefs stadium “Burrowhead Stadium”.
The name has clearly gotten the attention of some Kansas City Chiefs players.
Today, star defensive tackle Chris Jones ended his press conference by telling reports he’s see them all at Burrowhead Stadium.
#Chiefs superstar DT Chris Jones at the end of his press conference: “Take care. See you all at Burrowhead Stadium.”
Oh it’s getting feisty, and you gotta LOVE IT! pic.twitter.com/B3UiqOoOzC
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 27, 2023
Luckily for the Bengals, they probably don’t have to worry about giving the Chiefs any extra motivation. They are probably already plenty motivated to avenge last year’s loss.
However, the name puts a lot of pressure on the Bengals to keep their streak alive.
Chris Jones will be one of their biggest obstacles. He racked up 15.5 sacks this season and the Bengals are going to be without multiple starters on their offensive line.
He could have plenty of chances to make sure the name “Burrowhead” stops on Sunday.