There’s plenty of bulletin board material for the AFC championship game. The Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs will play at 5:30 p.m. Sunday for a trip to the Super Bowl, and Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton might just have a target on his back.
On the sidelines last week in Buffalo with the outcome of that game well in hand, Hilton was on video saying, “We’ll see you in ‘Burrowhead,’” a reference to Arrowhead Stadium, where the Bengals and QB Joe Burrow beat the Chiefs last year in the AFC title game.
The comment didn’t go unnoticed by safety Justin Reid and the Chiefs.
“I think we all saw it,” Reid said. “And those guys were having fun since they won the game. But we’re going to let our play on the field speak for us.”
Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed also was careful to not to post any bulletin board material.
“I’m not worried about that,” he said. “We’re coming to play football. That’s what we’re here to do.”
The Chiefs have a three-game losing streak to the Bengals, including last year’s AFC title game. Reid wasn’t with the Chiefs then but got a firsthand look at the Bengals when they played back in December — a game the Bengals rallied to win in the fourth quarter.
Burrow threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns that game, including the game-winner to Chris Evans in the fourth. In last year’s AFC title game, Burrow threw for 250 yards and two scores.
“This guy’s elite at everything he does” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “It’s not just throwing the football. It’s throwing it to the right spots, it’s making the right decisions, it’s getting out of trouble, and he’s rushed by good pass rushers.
“You got to find a way to be a little bit under control because he’s nifty. He never panics in the pocket, and it feels like he’s got six eyeballs around his head.”
Burrow’s favorite target Jamar Chase scored a touchdown in last year’s AFC title game and had seven catches for 97 yards when they played in December.
“We have to know where he’s at every play,” Reid said. “He’s a very dynamic weapon for them. So we’re going to have to have a high level of awareness.
“Arrowhead Stadium, you’re going to be able to help us out with the noise that I’m sure is going to be there and disrupting the communication that they’re going to have on their offense. And we’re going to have to do a good job communicating on defense, verbally and non-verbally to make sure everybody’s on the same page.”
The Chiefs have done that quite well for the past six weeks as their young defensive backs have continued to improve. And last week against the Jaguars, rookie Jaylen Watson intercepted a pass to seal the win. And Reid said he expects them to meet the moment again Sunday.
“We’re very confident in them,” Reid said. “They’re built for this. We’re confident in them, and we’re going to go out and play.”
