The burgeoning rivalry between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs was hamstrung this season by Joe Burrow’s season-ending wrist injury. Had Burrow not had a nagging, ailing calf amid the Bengals’ 1-3 start and remained healthy thereafter, the Bengals-Chiefs tilt in Kansas City on New Year’s Eve might’ve had a lot more playoff implications.
Instead, Jake Browning started for Cincinnati, and KC eliminated the Bengals from postseason contention.
It’s no secret that these two teams don’t particularly love one another, with a lot of beef stemming from Cincinnati’s stud wide receiver corps and the Chiefs’ secondary.
Bengals wideout Ja’Marr Chase got into it with Justin Reid before last year’s regular-season meeting, and Chase was at it again before the latest matchup in Week 17.
As Cincinnati enters a pivotal offseason, Chase is at it again alongside his WR1-caliber teammate in Tee Higgins, who’s scheduled to hit free agency. On the Dan Le Batard Show, the dynamic duo was asked whether or not they’d be subscribing to Peacock to watch the Chiefs host the Dolphins in Saturday’s Wild Card Round duel.
TLD[Listen]: Nope.
I’m sure Tee wants to keep all his options open, yet some unserious people out there believe he’ll sign with the Chiefs since they need wide receiver help in the most desperate way. That explains why he gave a more graceful answer than Chase did when asked who he wanted to see represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
LOL. I love that Ja’Marr just keeps feeding into the rivalry. I’ve spoken and written about this many times before: even though the Chiefs have won two Super Bowls in the Patrick Mahomes era, compared to the Bengals’ franchise history grand total of zero, it feels like KC fans can’t even enjoy their championships. They’re too butthurt about anything Bengals players say to truly cherish a Lombardi Trophy. You hate to see it. You really do.
To get back on track with the “exclusively streaming on Peacock” situation that the NFL decided to set up, I’m glad the league-owned network interviewed somebody about it. Was hoping for an explanation for such madness.
I feel compelled to rebuttal what Mike North says here (all due respect, not trying to start anything even in jest, Ja’Marr Chase-style).
It’s one thing to stream a game on Amazon Prime Video. Everyone already has Amazon. The streaming service is built in to the Prime annual membership fee. It’s not some extra thing you need to pay for. Peacock is different. In my experience, APV is a better streaming service overall. As is Netflix. As is Max. As is Disney+. As is Paramount+. Shall I keep going? I won’t.
You can see how it might be kind of tough to get people onboard. Playoff football leaves everyone no choice. NBC is leveraging its status as the carrier of prime-time NFL football to spike their Peacock subscription numbers. Well played, y’all. A bit sinister, but well-played. This is the way of the world now. Just hope Peacock can step its game up in the coming years if this is how they’ll be rolling.
Anyway, it’s a bummer to see Tee and Ja’Marr on the couch with the playoffs about to kick off. Would love the Bengals to franchise tag Tee if an extension agreement can’t be reached. Complicating matters is the massive incoming payday for Ja’Marr, who should have the most lucrative wide receiver contract in NFL history whenever he puts pen to paper. In any event, I’m glad these guys have a little pettiness about the Chiefs, Peacock, or both. Just another reason to believe in Joe Burrow’s 2024 Revenge Tour.
