Kelce dismisses idea Chiefs rested starters to keep Bengals out of playoffs
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce scoffed at the idea that Kansas City rested its starters in the team's season finale loss to keep the Cincinnati Bengals out of the playoffs.
"I ain't scared of f-----g nobody," Travis Kelce said on the "New Heights Podcast." "I wanted them in the f-----g 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."
He added: "AFC, NFC, give me all of them, Mortal Kombat style. I'll go through every f-----g one of 'em, just giving them my best f-----g effort. I ain't scared of a single soul, man."
The Bengals needed the Chiefs to defeat the Denver Broncos on Sunday to have a chance of making the playoffs. Kansas City rested most of its starters, including Kelce and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Denver cruised to a 38-0 victory, securing the No. 7 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Kansas City already locked up the top seed in the conference after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day. The Chiefs were the only team heading into Week 18 with only one loss.
Cincinnati beat the Steelers on Saturday to improve to 9-8. The Bengals won their final five games of the season, but it wasn't enough to make the playoffs after a 4-8 start.
The Bengals and Chiefs have a history in the postseason in recent years. Cincinnati defeated the Chiefs in the 2022 conference title game, while Kanas City won the conference championship rematch the following year.
"I'll play them at the Walmart parking lot," Kelce said. "I don't give a shit. We can have our own game in the offseason where we really duke it out."
Kelce added: "Listen, I love competing against the greatest. The Bengals were a fun-ass f-----g 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 finished the year 15-2. They'll have a bye week during the wild-card round.