'Bullsh*t': Sports reporter blasted by Super Bowl loser's mum

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Eli Apple has had to eat some humble pie in the wake of Monday's 23-20 Super Bowl loss to the LA Rams, but his mother has shown she won't back down from her son's critics.

Apple managed to become public enemy number one in the eyes of NFL fans leading up to the Super Bowl, mostly for his constant trash talking of rivals on the field.

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The 26-year-old also got plenty of neutral fans offside by inexplicably calling out fans of the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints on social media leading up to the Super Bowl.

After talking a hefty amount of smack before the game, Apple had an absolute mare in the eventual three-point defeat.

He became the first primary defender to give up two passing touchdowns in the Super Bowl in the the last four years, including what turned out to be the match-winning catch by Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp.

He had earlier given up a penalty which allowed the Rams to play from first and goal, after being called for holding.

Apple's comeuppance was swift after the Rams raised the trophy, with several NFL rivals taking to social media to mock the Bengals corner, as well as legions of fans.

But one Tweet didn't go unnoticed by Apple's mother Annie, who fired back a blunt response to a reporter mocking her son's performance.

Bally Sports reporter Annie Agar wrote 'Such an incredible experience providing coverage at my first Super Bowl, unlike Eli Apple' alongside a photo of herself a SoFi stadium.

Annie Apple was in no mood to let the slight at her son go, despite seemingly steering clear of his NFL rivals.

“I can believe that. Word on the street is you catch a lotta balls. Mainstream media stays on that bulls***," she replied.

Agar is a well-known sports personality on Twitter who frequently takes light-hearted potshots at players.

The ribbing clearly hit a sore spot for Apple, who later added a second reply featuring an image of former reality TV star Tiffany Pollard with the caption 'You should have just sat there and ate your food.'

Bengals lose Super Bowl amid 42-year statistical anomaly

The Bengals lost Super Bowl LVI, and there were myriad reasons that can be attributed for their defeat.

Among them are:

• Giving up seven sacks.

• Not stopping the Rams on their final drive.

• Punting four straight times in the second half.

Here's another one we can't forget: Winning the turnover battle — by two, no less! — and not taking better advantage of it.

Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions, and the Bengals turned those into a combined three points. The Bengals did not give the ball away all game.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor agrees that the turnover advantage should have played in their favour more.

"Winning the turnover battle like we did should have allowed us to win that game," he said afterwards.

The Bengals became just the third team in Super Bowl history to win the turnover battle, but go on to lose the game.

And Super Bowl teams that committed zero turnovers in the game? They were 19-2 coming into Sunday. The Bengals made it 19-3.

Here's another odd coincidence: The last zero-turnover Super Bowl team to lose before Sunday? The Tennessee Titans, who dropped Super Bowl XXXIV to ... the Rams. (Of course, the Rams also had no turnovers in that game.)

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