To say there may be a number of water underneath the bridge within the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs versus the Cincinnati Bengals rivalry is like calling the Euphrates a quaint little creek.
Whether or not or not it’s Bengals gamers calling Arrowhead Stadium “Burrowhead,” tight finish Travis Kelce calling the mayor of Cincinnati a “jabroni,” or defensive finish Frank Clark telling the complete Bengals crew to “take their bum ass all the best way again to Cincinnati,” there isn’t a love loss between these two groups.
Though rookie left deal with Kingsley Suamataia wasn’t with the Chiefs for earlier clashes with these no-good chili-eaters, he informed reporters on Wednesday that it didn’t take lengthy to get indoctrinated into the feud.
“I’m a rookie, however I’ve the identical fireplace like all people else has in opposition to the blokes (going) in opposition to us — it’s my household versus y’all,” he mentioned.
His offensive deal with counterpart, Jawaan Taylor, mentioned he favored what he noticed out of his fellow deal with in his first NFL recreation.
“I really feel like he did very effectively for his rookie debut,” mentioned Taylor. “He’s going to be a fantastic participant for this crew, and we stay up for seeing him play once more on Sunday.”
For his half, Suamataia mentioned there are some issues he wants to wash up, however general, he’s happy with how he performed final Thursday.
When requested why he thought Kansas Metropolis might stroll off the sector with the victory of their season opener, he mentioned they have been the sport’s greatest bully. A bodily mentality is one thing Suamataia mentioned he’s planning on carrying over into Week 2.
“Us and the Bengals, we’ve a historical past,” mentioned the left deal with. “They’re a fantastic protection throughout the board. They bought nice linebackers and a fantastic defensive position particularly, however we’re able to go on the market — and all of it begins up entrance… we’re able to be the larger bully once more.”
The nice defensive position he’s referring to is led by defensive finish Trey Hendrickson, who registered 17.5 sacks in 2023 — and, in response to Professional Soccer Focus, had a 26.1% win price in opposition to the New England Patriots final week.
Calling out Henderson by title, Suamataia referred to as it a blessing to face such a gifted opponent however famous that he additionally faces some fairly good edge rushers day-after-day in observe.
“I’ve nice D-ends that I’m going in opposition to that assist me put together for the week,” he mentioned.
Practising such as you’re in an actual recreation scenario is one thing that Suamataia mentioned he’s discovered from taking part in with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“All these reps rely — take note of the main points, so if you get to the sport, you simply have enjoyable, and you may play free.”
