When the Cincinnati Bengals were calling the Kansas City Chiefs' stadium "Burrowhead Stadium," in reference to Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, it seemed like a bad idea. When the Cincinnati mayor had a dumb stunt to ask if Burrow was Patrick Mahomes' father, it was beyond repair.
The Chiefs didn't say anything in response to the Bengals' trash talk. But they were taking notes.
Tight end Travis Kelce interrupted Mahomes' postgame interview after the Chiefs won the AFC championship game to give it right back to the Bengals, who were feeling themselves after beating the Chiefs three times in a row. Bad idea to rile the Chiefs up.
Mahomes was a little more understated by he got in his shots too.
"Burrowhead, my a**!" Kelce said on CBS right after the game. "It's Mahomes' house!"
"It's not Burrowhead out here," Mahomes said on CBS.
Mahomes also had a sly dig at the Bengals smoking cigars after beating the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round. Burrow also famously smoked a cigar after leading the LSU Tigers to a national championship win.
"I don't think we have any cigars but we'll be ready to go for the Super Bowl," Mahomes said.
Oh, and the mayor's comment. That didn't go unnoticed.
It's almost always cringeworthy when politicians mix up in sports, but Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval took it to a whole other level. Pureval issued an "official proclamation," asking Burrow to take a paternity test to confirm if he is Mahomes' father. Yikes.
Kelce had something to say about that too, during the trophy presentation ceremony. He channeled The Rock and turned it into a WWE interview.
"I got some wise words for that Cincinnati mayor: Know your role and shut your mouth, you jabroni!" Kelce said.
The Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years. The Bengals are a good young team, but they might want to reconsider providing motivation for a proud opponent next time.