‘Right Up Yours, Tennessee’ – No Regrets for Bengals Center Ted Karras After Last Year’s Viral Video

Tee Higgins had 114 yards and a touchdown, Samaje Perine scored his first rushing touchdown of the season, and Lou Anarumo’s defense held Derrick Henry to 38 yards on 17 carries. Yet the enduring memory from the Cincinnati Bengals‘ 20-16 win at Tennessee last year is a three-word sound bite.

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What Is Ted Karras Expecting From Fans He Cussed Out?

With his adrenaline still boiling after getting punched by Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons in the closing seconds of the game, Karras converted his emotions into words as he walked off the field at Nissan Stadium.

“Right up yours, Tennessee,” he said, followed by a double shot of “F–k you.”

WATCH the most excited Bengal of them all (Karras) leaving the field and GIVING IT to Titans fans, this is AWESOME #Bengals #WhoDey pic.twitter.com/Dqea5XYHb8

— Mark Slaughter (@MarkVSlaughter) November 27, 2022

Asked if he had any remorse about the moment and what he said, Karras said there is none.

“No regrets. It is what it is,” Karras said. “Justice was served. He got fined [$11,131]. We’re gonna be back. It’s gonna be a grit-fest again.”

But Karras knows the Tennessee fans haven’t forgotten, and he expects to hear about it Sunday afternoon when the 1-2 Bengals take on the 1-2 Titans in a battle to avoid being buried in the AFC.

“I’m sure they’ll have something for me,” he said. “It wasn’t particularly at the Tennessee fans, but that’s what it was. I’m glad they didn’t get the stuff I was yelling at the Titans before that.”

#Bengals center Ted Karras on returning to the scene of his “Up Yours, Tennessee” moment. pic.twitter.com/N7H3RVYYQI

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) September 28, 2023

Karras said he knows he’ll hear from the Titans fans Sunday, and he’s not worried about the boos.

“S**t, we were gettin’ booed at home,” he said, referring to Monday night’s game when the crowd got surly a couple of times, most notably after a 3rd-and-1 opportunity turned to 3rd-and-11 after back-to-back false starts.

“That’s fine,” Karras said. “Cincinnati’s havin’ fun, packin’ the stadium, do whatever you want. You can boo us. Two false starts in a row. That’s fair.”

A big reason why Karras is in Cincinnati is what happened in Tennessee during the 2021 playoff run when Titans DT Simmons and the rest of the line sacked Burrow nine times.

Then, two weeks later, Aaron Donald and the Rams defensive line wrecked the Bengals in the Super Bowl.

MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart

Karras and Co. survived Donald on Monday night to beat the Rams 19-16. Now comes another shot at Simmons after last year’s punch, fine, and rant.

“Aaron is such a unique player with how fast he is, and his movement is obviously the best there’s been at that position ever,” Karras said. “But Jeff Simmons has elite skills as well, so we’re gonna need to play our very best against him.”

“I don’t have any hard feelings ever,” Karras added. “We’re gonna go out there and play hard like we always do. We need to go down there and even up our record.”