TRAVIS KELCE has sent a very clear message to naysayers who claimed the Kansas City Chiefs THREW their game against the Denver Broncos to keep the Cincinnati Bengals out of the playoffs.
The Bengals ended the season as one of the hottest teams in the NFL, winning five in a row, but needed the Chiefs to beat the Broncos to have a chance to make it to the postseason.
But with Kansas City already locked in as the No 1 seed in the AFC, head coach Andy Reid opted to rest star men like Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.
The Broncos went on to win in a 38-0 mauling against the Chiefs’ second string.
That led to fans, especially those in Cincinnati, accusing the Chiefs of throwing the game to ensure the Bengals were watching the playoffs at home.
When asked about those accusations by brother Jason on their New Heights podcast, Travis was infuriated.
He went on an expletive-fuelled rant and said: “I ain’t scared of f***ing nobody.
“I wanted them in the f***ing playoffs. I want to slay every dragon one by one, like Mortal Kombat.
I don’t even want this to be like we play the lowest seed. Just give me the best teams.”
Jason then said: “I’m not saying this, people are saying this.”
But Travis was still ranting: “AFC, NFC, give me all of them, Mortal Kombat style.
“I’ll go through every f***ing one of them just giving them my best f***ing effort. I ain’t scared of a single soul, man.”
Jason then added: “People are saying you didn’t want to face the Bengals in Burrowhead or Cincinnati.”
Travis responded again: “I’ll play them at the Walmart parking lot, I don’t give a s***.
“We can have our own game in the offseason, where we really duke it out.
“Listen, I love competing against the greatest.
“The Bengals were a fun-ass f***ing team to watch there toward the end of the season, and it’s a shame they didn’t make it in the playoffs, because they would have made the playoffs that much f***ing crazier and that much more fun.”
The Chiefs superstar tight end, 35, had a tough year by his standards – posting the lowest yardage of his career, averaging less than 10 yards per catch for the first time and grabbing just three touchdowns, his lowest total.
NFL Wild Card Weekend schedule
Saturday, January 11:
- No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 4 Houston Texans, 4:30 pm ET (CBS, Paramount+)
- No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens, 8:00 pm ET (Prime Video)
Sunday, January 12:
- No. 7 Denver Broncos at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 1:00 pm ET (CBS, Paramount+)
- No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30 pm ET (Fox, Fox Deportes)
- No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8:00 pm ET (NBC, Peacock, Universo)
Monday, January 13:
- No. 5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams, 8:00 pm ET (ESPN, ABC)
Kelce expressed his respect for the Bengals but then reiterated that he and the Chiefs would have been more than ready to face them.
He added: “That was one of the wackiest years of football I’ve ever seen from a team that I thought was 10 times better than what their record showed.
“And I know that, just playing against them.
“But we didn’t f***ing throw any game. Guys were out there competing their ass of, trying to get a win.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t put drives together, we couldn’t stop Denver. It just wasn’t a fun game to be a part of.
“And I’m just sitting here on the sideline like, ‘Hey, boys, don’t let this s*** ruin our mojo.’
“We got everybody rolling and it’s go time.
“We’ve gotta flip that switch and know we’re the biggest, baddest team out there.’”
