Travis Kelce has refuted claims that the Kansas City Chiefs rested starters in their final game of the regular season to deny the Cincinnati Bengals a spot in the playoffs.
After the Bengals won their final regular season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers last Saturday, they needed the Denver Broncos to lose to the Chiefs and the New York Jets to beat the Miami Dolphins the next day. The Jets defeated the Dolphins, but a severely weakened Chiefs team lost 38–0 to the Broncos, allowing Denver to claim the final wild card spot in the AFC.
The Bengals would have been a tough challenge for any team in the postseason. They won their last five games of the regular season, inspired by Joe Burrow, who led the league in passing touchdowns and yards, and Ja’Marr Chase, who topped the NFL in receiving yards, receptions and touchdowns . The Chiefs also had to rely on a late pass interference call they scored a 26-25 win about the Bengalis in September.
“I’m not afraid to fuck no one,” Kelce said at New Heightsthe podcast he hosts together with his brother Jason. ‘I wanted [the Bengals] in the…playoffs. I want to slay each dragon one by one, like Mortal Kombat. I don’t even want it to look like we’re playing the lowest seed. Just give me the best teams.”
“AFC, NFC, give me them all, Mortal Kombat style. I’ll go through them all. I’m not afraid of a single soul, man.’
After the Bengals’ win over the Steelers last week, Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor said the rest of the NFL “wouldn’t want us in this tournament, I promise you that.” The Chiefs have also struggled against the Bengals in recent postseasons. Cincinnati reached the Super Bowl in 2022 after beating the Chiefs in the AFC title game and nearly repeated the feat the following season.
‘I play the [Bengals] in the Walmart parking lot,” Kelce said on his podcast. “I don’t care. We can have our own game in the offseason where we really battle it out. Listen, I love competing against the greatest. The Bengals were a fun team to watch towards the end of the season, and it’s a shame they didn’t make the playoffs because they would have made the playoffs much crazier and much more fun.
The 35-year-old Kelce had a down year by his high standards, recording 823 receiving yards, his lowest total since his rookie season in 2013. He was still named to his 10th Pro Bowl.
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The Chiefs have a bye in the first round of the playoffs, which takes place this weekend, after securing the AFC’s No. 1 seed.