How did the Chiefs respond to the Bengals’ “Burrowhead” joke about their Arrowhead stadium?

Having outlasted the Bengals, the Chiefs hit back at their opponents’ cheeky attempt at gamesmanship in the build up to their AFC Championship showdown. Needless to say, they’re feeling quite pleased with themselves after the big win.

It’s Arrowhead not ‘Burrowhead’

You may have noticed a story that made the rounds in the buildup to Sunday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs. Considering that the meeting between the two, was a rematch of last year’s championship game when the Bengals won, you can probably guess that the war of words was heated. To that end, fans likely conceded a wry smile when the Bengals declared that the Chiefs’ stadium should be known as “Brrowhead Stadium,” following their Divisional Round win against the Bills.

Of course, the Chiefs themselves didn’t see anything funny in the joke and they made that quite clear in the lead up to the faceoff with the Bengals. Speaking on the podcast that he co-hosts with his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce, Kansas City’s own Travis Kelce made mention of the chatter. “They’re throwing a lot of bulletin board material out there,” he said. Even Defensive lineman, Chris Jones, referred to the jab during the pregame press conference, when he said that he would see the opposition at “Burrowhead” on Sunday. Of course, as we now know the Bengals fell to the Chiefs in a 23-20 nailbiter. As you can imagine, it wasn’t long before the rebuttals started coming in. While speaking after the win star QB Patrick Mahomes was interrupted by his mic grabbing Chiefs teammate, Kelce, who shouted “Burrowhead, my ass.”

What else did the Chiefs say?

Rightfully enjoying the moment, many of the Chiefs joined in the fun when discussing their defeated opponents post game. Left tackle Orlando Brown demanded that everyone “give [Mahomes] his respect. Stamp him!” The signal caller himself took a slightly more subtle approach, when he referenced Joe Burrow’s habit of smoking cigars by saying he wanted to celebrate the big win before the Super Bowl, but lamented “I don’t think we have any cigars.” Indeed, Mahomes also questioned the crowd while being presented with the Lamar Hunt Trophy - for AFC champions - as to whether or not the stadium was still called Arrowhead.

Ultimately, it was all in good humor between the camps with both sides showing that they do in fact respect the other. For Burrow and Co. they will know now that they have silenced any doubters as to whether or not they are an elite team with their second consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance. Yet, they will understandably be reflecting on what could have been. As for the Chiefs, they now move on to the Super Bowl where they will face the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that’s essentially been the best in the league for the entire season. If one thing is certain, trash talk won’t be the difference when the two teams meet, but it could certainly make things more entertaining.