Eli Apple chose violence again.
The Bengals cornerback, who recently blasted his former teams on social media, came for the Chiefs on Twitter following Cincinnati’s 27-24 AFC Championship win on Sunday.
As Chiefs fans looked to explain what happened in the second half of the game, in which their offense fell apart and the team failed to reach Super Bowl LVI, some took to Twitter, where they pointed to Apple’s open-field tackle on Kansas City receiver Tyreek Hill as the moment the tide changed. One fan, in particular, tweeted to Apple, “As much s–t as you’ll get, I gotta concede you had the game winning play here.”
Apple responded to the tweet, calling Hill a “baby.”
Kansas City pretty much controlled the game going into halftime, leading 21-10. Apple received a defensive pass interference penalty with nine seconds to go in the quarter. With just five seconds on the clock and an incompletion by Mahomes on the subsequent play, the clock expired without the big play the Chiefs wanted.
This was a game of two halves and Mahomes, who recorded 220 passing yards and three touchdown passes in the first two quarters but couldn’t regain his earlier might. Kansas City only managed 55 passing yards in the rest of the game, while the Bengals outscored them 17-3 in the second half and overtime.
While Apple’s flag might have been the inception to fuel the team’s come-from-behind victory, Hill made it clear that there was no bad blood between them.
“No Twitter beef big dog just hit my line,” Hill responded to the tweet.
Apple then offered to buy Hill and Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman tickets to the Super Bowl.
The Rams and the Bengals will face off for the Lombardi Trophy in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 13. The 2021 football season marks only the third time in franchise history that Cincinnati has advanced to the Super Bowl.