It’s a near-overboard tale of motivation, underdogs and bulletin-board material as the Cincinnati Bengals get ready to play the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game.
The Bengals have comfortably sat in the underdog role and found motivation from it over the course of two AFC title game appearances in as many years.
But the Bengals suddenly found themselves briefly favored over the Chiefs in this year’s conference championship due to Patrick Mahomes’ injured ankle.
The Chiefs are also finding inspiration in a funny quote thrown out by Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton on the sideline during last week’s win over the Bills.
Hilton called Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium “Burrowhead” instead, and Chiefs players like Travis Kelce have called it out:
Travis Kelce addresses Bengals "Burrowhead" @newheightshow pic.twitter.com/btKDIBREgo
— BBQ Dom (@RealBBQDom) January 25, 2023
As always, athletes find anything and everything to be motivated by, so this comes as no surprise. It’s just another small layer to a rivalry that has become something special over the last two seasons.
Here’s the clip featuring Hilton’s comment, for what it’s worth:
.@MikeHilton_28 and the @Bengals made a statement Sunday ‼ pic.twitter.com/WjNFB46aNo
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 25, 2023
