Bengals wide receiver’s latest comments add fuel to the rivalry with the Chiefs
The Chiefs never trailed during their 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in January’s AFC Championship Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
But Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd believes the Chiefs caught a lucky break when he was injured.
Boyd caught two passes for 40 yards during the Bengals’ second-quarter drive for their first field goal. But Boyd told reporters Tuesday that he suffered a deep thigh bruise and couldn’t return to the game.
“I did everything I could do to try to come back, numbing creams, ibuprofen to go, but I felt like I couldn’t be at least 80%, and I didn’t want to go out there and not be on the same page as Joe (Burrow),” Boyd said.
Chiefs fans didn’t know it at the time, but Boyd was the “key factor” to the Bengals’ chances at victory. Or so he says.
“Still to this day, I feel like if I would have played the whole game, I was the key factor,” Boyd told ESPN’s Ben Baby. “We would’ve won the game.”
The Chiefs likely disagree with that assessment from Boyd, who caught four passes for 60 yards in the Bengals’ 27-24 win over the Chiefs during the regular season. In last year’s AFC Championship Game, he had four receptions for 19 yards.
Tuesday’s comment will only add to fuel to what has become the AFC’s best rivalry over the past two seasons.
Ditto for Boyd’s thoughts on the Bengals’ signing of left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who played the previous two seasons with the Chiefs.
“I loved it, you know, because we have a nice little rivalry with the Chiefs,” Boyd said, “and just seeing him come over and it was like, ‘yeah, we one-upped y’all.’
“But at he end of the day, he’s a great player, no matter where he would have went. He’s probably one of the best in his position and just adding him to what we got already, so it allows Joe to have more time and it’s gonna give us the will to put up those points, so I’m just happy to have him.”
The Chiefs play the Bengals on New Year’s Eve, and these comments from Boyd probably will come up at that time.
