{"id":24428,"date":"2025-01-09T07:50:13","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T07:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=24428"},"modified":"2025-01-09T07:50:21","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T07:50:21","slug":"breaking-travis-kelce-responds-to-rumor-that-chiefs-are-scared-of-afc-rival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=24428","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Travis Kelce Responds To Rumor That Chiefs Are Scared Of AFC Rival.."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Cincinnati Bengals\u00a0fans blame the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0for missing the playoffs, but\u00a0Travis Kelce\u00a0adamantly disputed the notion that they tanked a Week 18 game to keep out\u00a0Joe Burrow\u00a0and Co.<\/p>\n<p>The Bengals rallied from a 4-8 start to win their final five games and maintain their playoff hopes entering the regular season\u2019s last day. Following their Week 18 victory over the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0and a\u00a0Miami Dolphins\u00a0loss, Cincinnati would have captured the AFC\u2019s final wild-card spot if Kansas City defeated the\u00a0Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for the Bengals, the Chiefs already clinched the AFC\u2019s No. 1 seed. With no playoff ramifications,\u00a0Andy Reid\u00a0rested Kelce,\u00a0Patrick Mahomes, and other star players in a 38-0 loss to Denver. After the blowout, some fans felt Kansas City intentionally laid an egg to keep a burgeoning rival and more dangerous threat out of the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>However, Kelce insisted otherwise on his latest\u00a0<em>New Heights<\/em>\u00a0podcast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI ain\u2019t scared of f****** nobody,\u201d Kelce declared. \u201cI wanted them in the f******* playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Had the Bengals made the playoffs as the AFC\u2019s No. 7 seed, they would have faced the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round with a first-round victory. The Chiefs narrowly escaped Arrowhead with a 26-25 win over the Bengals in Week 2 after a penalty set up a last-second field goal.<\/p>\n<p>Along with not having to worry about Cincinnati, the top seed guarantees that Kansas City won\u2019t play the\u00a0Buffalo Bills\u00a0or\u00a0Baltimore Ravens\u00a0until the AFC Championship Game. Yet Kelce urged the\u00a0NFL\u00a0not to bother re-seeding the bracket after the opening round so he can see the toughest competition possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to slay every dragon one by one, like Mortal Kombat,\u201d Kelce claimed. \u201cI don\u2019t even want this to be, we play the lowest seed. Just give me the best teams \u2026 I\u2019ll go through every one of them, giving them my best f******* effort.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-detail--body-item m-detail--body-item-inline\">\n<figure class=\"l-inline tml-image m-detail--tml-image--inline\"><picture class=\"is-loaded\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/thespun.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_380\/MjExMDkxNDU0MzU1ODQyNTQ4\/las-vegas-raiders-v-kansas-city-chiefs.webp 380w, https:\/\/thespun.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620\/MjExMDkxNDU0MzU1ODQyNTQ4\/las-vegas-raiders-v-kansas-city-chiefs.webp 620w, https:\/\/thespun.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MjExMDkxNDU0MzU1ODQyNTQ4\/las-vegas-raiders-v-kansas-city-chiefs.webp 700w\" type=\"image\/webp\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1240px) 700px, (min-width: 675px) 620px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/thespun.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_380\/MjExMDkxNDU0MzU1ODQyNTQ4\/las-vegas-raiders-v-kansas-city-chiefs.jpg 380w, https:\/\/thespun.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620\/MjExMDkxNDU0MzU1ODQyNTQ4\/las-vegas-raiders-v-kansas-city-chiefs.jpg 620w, https:\/\/thespun.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MjExMDkxNDU0MzU1ODQyNTQ4\/las-vegas-raiders-v-kansas-city-chiefs.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1240px) 700px, (min-width: 675px) 620px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"m-detail--tml-image m-image\" src=\"https:\/\/thespun.com\/.image\/t_share\/MjExMDkxNDU0MzU1ODQyNTQ4\/las-vegas-raiders-v-kansas-city-chiefs.jpg\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"Travis Kelce on field on Nov. 29.\" width=\"5363\" height=\"3575\" data-src=\"https:\/\/thespun.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MjExMDkxNDU0MzU1ODQyNTQ4\/las-vegas-raiders-v-kansas-city-chiefs.jpg\" \/><\/picture><figcaption>\n<p class=\"tml-image--caption\">KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI \u2013 NOVEMBER 29: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs warms up prior to the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on November 29, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"tml-image--attribution\">David Eulitt\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Jason Kelce joked that Kansas City didn\u2019t want to see the Bengals in Cincinnati or \u201cBurrowhead,\u201d a nickname Bengals fans gave to Arrowhead after a 2021 AFC Championship Game win. Travis replied that he\u2019d play them anywhere, even in a Walmart parking lot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cListen, I love competing against the greatest,\u201d Travis said. \u201cThe Bengals were a fun a** team to watch towards the end of the season. It\u2019s a shame they didn\u2019t make it in the playoffs because it would have made the playoffs that much f****** crazier and that much more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Travis called the 9-8 Bengals \u201c10 times better than what their record showed.\u201d While the veteran tight end rested in Week 18, he denied Kansas City tanking the matchup so Denver would make the playoffs instead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t f***** throw any game,\u201d Travis insisted. \u201cGuys were out there competing their a** off trying to get a win. It wasn\u2019t a fun game to be a part of. And I\u2019m just sitting here on the sideline. I\u2019m like, \u2018Hey boys, don\u2019t let this s*** ruin our f***** mojo. It\u2019s go time. We gotta flip that switch and know we\u2019re the biggest, baddest team out there.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cincinnati Bengals\u00a0fans blame the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0for missing the playoffs, but\u00a0Travis Kelce\u00a0adamantly disputed the notion that they tanked a Week 18 game to keep out\u00a0Joe Burrow\u00a0and Co. The&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":24429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Travis Kelce Responds To Rumor That Chiefs Are Scared Of AFC Rival.. - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=24428\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Travis Kelce Responds To Rumor That Chiefs Are Scared Of AFC Rival.. - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cincinnati Bengals\u00a0fans blame the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0for missing the playoffs, but\u00a0Travis Kelce\u00a0adamantly disputed the notion that they tanked a Week 18 game to keep out\u00a0Joe Burrow\u00a0and Co. 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