After a war of words between two of the AFC’s best teams leading up to Sunday’s game, it was the Bengals who had the last laugh at Paycor Stadium.
Justin Reid kicked off the verbal barbs when he tried to vocalize confidence in his ability to lock down Hayden Hurst. The problem was the Kansas City safety wasn’t able to correctly identify the Cincinnati tight end, first referring to Hurst as Tyler Higbee (Los Angeles Rams tight end) and then Tee Higgins (Bengals wide receiver).
Given Reid’s trash-talking difficulties, it was easy for Joe Burrow to brush off the safety’s shot at the reigning AFC champions.
“I would have cared a lot more if he knew what he was talking about,” Burrow told reporters, per ESPN’s Ben Baby.
Hurst didn’t provide much in Cincinnati’s 27-24 win, but the same can’t be said for Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, who also worked his way into the smack talk session prior to the Week 13 clash. The pair of Bengals receivers combined for 10 catches for 132 yards with a touchdown to help halt Kansas City’s win streak at five games.
The Chiefs should be able to bounce back Sunday when they visit the 3-9 Denver Broncos. Burrow and company will try to keep the good times rolling in Cincinnati where they’ll look to avenge their Week 8 blowout loss to the Cleveland Browns.
