With the No. 1 seed locked up, the Kansas City Chiefs rested their starters in Sunday’s finale against the Broncos, a game that Denver won by 38 points to clinch the final playoff spot in the AFC.
This was the reasonable and expected thing to do. With nothing at stake, putting the health of key players at risk by playing them would have been foolish and irresponsible.
Alas, the decision has prompted fan theories that the Chiefs intentionally threw their game against the Broncos in order to avoid facing the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor fanned the flames of those theories Saturday night after Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh to remain playoff eligible.
“They’re not going to want us in this tournament, I promise you,” Taylor said Saturday night.
A loss by the Broncos on Sunday would have opened the door for the 9-8 Bengals to make the postseason. Denver’s 38-0 win ensured that they did not.
Kelce’s candid retort to fan theories
On Wednesday, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce addressed those theories on his “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason Kelce. He took the topic on with the candor that one would expect from Kelce.
“I ain’t scared of f***ing nobody. I wanted them in the f***ing playoffs,” Kelce said. “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.”
“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.”
At that point of the conversation, the Bengals had not been mentioned by name. But Kelce’s message was clear. When his brother asked specifically about the Bengals, Kelce carried on.
“I’ll play them at the Walmart parking lot, I don’t give a s***,” Kelce continued. “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 Bengals missed the playoffs despite a high-octane offense featuring All Pro-level efforts from quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
The Burrow-led Bengals have also proven to be one of the toughest opponents for the Chiefs during their run to three Super Bowls and reign atop the AFC. Cincinnati beat Kansas City in the AFC championship game after the 2021 season. Thus, the theories that Kansas City sought to duck Cincinnati in the postseason.
Kelce expressed his respect for the Bengals while reiterating that he and the Chiefs would be more than ready to face them.
“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,” Kelce said of the Bengals. “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.”
Kelce then expressed concern about about the 38-0 loss to the Broncos, who haven’t been an easy out for the Chiefs this year. Kansas City needed a last-second blocked field goal to defeat Denver in their first matchup of the season.
“And I’m just sitting here on the sideline like ‘hey, boys, don’t let this s*** ruin our mojo,” Kelce said of Sunday’s game. “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.'”
Thanks to their No. 1 seed, the Chiefs have the wild-card round of the playoffs off. From there, they’ll take on the lowest seed remaining in the AFC. If the 7th-seeded Broncos upset the 2nd-seeded Bills on Sunday, that means a Broncos-Chiefs rematch in Kansas City.
The Bengals, who would have been the No. 7 seed had the Broncos lost on Sunday, will have the entire postseason off.
