Cincinnati mayor made ‘Burrowhead’ instantly lame

The mayor of Cincinnati tried to drop a “Burrowhead” joke in a city council meeting and it somehow made the Joe Burrow-Arrowhead wordplay even worse.

The matchup between the Bengals and the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game has generated plenty of excitement over the prospect of a heated rematch. It’s also spread the term “Burrowhead,” for better or worse.

Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton dropped the phrasing on the sideline of Cincinnati’s win over the Bills, referencing quarterback Joe Burrow and his early success against the Chiefs.

It was a stretch when Hilton used it. It got even lamer when Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval made the refeernce.

“I’ll be at the game at Burrowhead Stadium,” Pureval said. “See what I did there?”

Even the audience in Cincinnati groaned.

“Burrowhead” is groan-worthy trash talk ahead of Chiefs-Bengals

Listen, Burrow has had Kansas City’s number in his three appearances against them. He led the Bengals to a 27-24 win in December. He notched another regular season victory against them last season, winning 34-31. Most impressively, he pulled off a 27-24 victory in last year’s AFC Championship Game.

With a 3-0 record against the Chiefs, Burrow can do all the trash-talking he wants. But he’s only ever played at Arrowhead Stadium once, with the playoff win representing his only trip to Kansas City. The other two victories came in Cincinnati.

“Burrowhead” isn’t just corny, it’s not even particularly accurate. You don’t get to claim ownership of a stadium after one victory. Not that Burrow himself is pushing the monkier, but he’s going to have to cash the check being written by his teammates and fans.

Tight end Travis Kelce made it clear that the Chiefs are aware of the “bulletin board material” being thrown around by the Bengals going into the game.

Will Burrow make the “Burrowhead” moniker a bit more valid with another win in the AFC Championship Game? He’ll have to go through Kelce and a fired-up Chiefs crowd to do it.