The success that the Chiefs have had since Andy Reid arrived in Kansas City back in 2013 has taken quite a phycological toll on other teams.
Players and coaches from around the NFL have done some weird things and made odd comments that ultimately stem from frustration over consistently losing to the Chiefs. You can now add Cincinnati Bengals rookie safety Daijahn Anthony to that list.
Anthony committed a critical defensive pass interference penalty on a fourth and long play during the final drive of the Chiefs-Bengals Week 2 matchup, which led to K.C. winning the game on a walk-off field goal.
While speaking to the Cincinnati media on Thursday, Anthony said that he "can't wait to see them again," referring to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce. He also mentioned that he has a picture of both Mahomes and Kelce on the lock screen of his cell phone for motivation. (H/T James Rapien of Bengals Talk SI.)
Professional athletes do a lot of things to stay motivated, but having two players from an opposing team who you don't personally know as the lock screen picture on your phone is a bit weird. On top of that, Anthony committed the DPI penalty against wide receiver Rashee Rice, so I'm not sure what Kelce has to do with it.
This is just one example of many of the affect that the Chiefs' dominance over the NFL has had. Even Anthony's teammate, wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, has had K.C. living rent-free in his head. During the NFL's Top-100 series this past offseason, Chase refused to say Mahomes' name while talking about him.
Fast forward to last week's matchup, Chase committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for using foul language to a referee after he felt that Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie performed a hip-drop tackle on him. Even if Chase felt like that did happen, there was no reason to react like that as the Bengals were having a nice drive up until that point that could have put the game out of reach with a touchdown.
Instead, Chase's 15-yard penalty stalled the drive and resulted in Cincinnati settling for a field goal, keeping the Chiefs within reach and allowing them to win the game. If these two teams meet again during the postseason, you can bet it will be a highly emotional contest that could come down to who does the best job keeping their cool.
If the Chiefs achieve the first ever Super Bowl three-peat in NFL history this season, who knows what more odd reactions to their success we will see. One thing is for sure, Chiefs fans will love every second of it.
