CINCINNATI, Ohio — “Where are my Super Bowl tickets?”
That’s how Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill greeted Bengals corner Eli Apple at Paycor Stadium before Thursday night’s game.
The week started out with Hill calling Eli Apple out in a promo that would have made The Rock proud.
“I can’t wait to go against Eli Apple, man, I owe you boy, I owe you,” Hill said. “I’m here, the Cheetah is here. That’s it.”
The light-hearted feud stemmed from Apple tackling Hill at the goal line in the AFC Championship then offering to buy him Super Bowl tickets on social media after the game.
Apple made himself scarce during the week and politely declined interview requests about Hill’s comments, but as one of the last players left in the Bengals locker room after a 27-15 win he enjoyed recapping the week for Cleveland.com.
“A lot of people that haven’t talked to me in awhile was hitting me up,” Apple said, with a laugh. “They were asking me, ‘what’s going on? Why is Tyreek going at you?’”
Apple said he never had experienced a moment like that in his career where an opposing player called him out by name.
“Oh no, no, never,” Apple said. “But I loved it.”
The win helped as did the defense putting together another stellar performance. While the Dolphins managed to put up 378 total yards (303 passing), they were 2 of 10 on third down, turned the ball over twice and were 1 of 3 in the red zone.
It was also the fourth straight game where the Bengals didn’t give up a touchdown in the second half.
Hill had a strong night with 10 catches for 160 yards — that’s more yards than in he had combined in two games he played against the Bengals last year with the Chiefs — including a 64-yarder down to the 5-yard line.
That drive stalled and the Dolphins had to settle for a field goal.
Hill filled up the box score, but it wasn’t a one-sided battle. Bengals safety Vonn Bell picked off a deep pass intended for the speedy receiver in the first quarter, he was called for offensive holding (on Apple) and was tackled for a loss on his one carry.
Plus, the deep pass he caught was well defended and even tipped by Chidobe Awuzie, who spent much of the night covering Hill. Per Next Gen Stats, Hill was only targeted twice when Apple was the nearest man in coverage and only had one catch for 7 yards.
“I told him I’d be on the left side and to come see me,” Apple said.
But the real question is, did Apple get the last laugh?
“No doubt, no doubt,” Apple said, before taking a more serious tone. “I think he has a great sense of humor … He’s a talented player, really fast and he’s going to go crazy this year.”
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