By laying down against the Broncos, the Chiefs helped Denver secure a playoff spot. In turn, the Bengals were bounced.
Some think the Chiefs wanted to keep Cincinnati out of the seven-team AFC field. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce rejected such talk during the latest episode of the New Heights podcast.
“I ain’t scared of fucking nobody,” Kelce said, via ESPN.com. “I wanted them in the fucking 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. . . .
“AFC, NFC, give me all of them, Mortal Kombat-style. I’ll go through every fucking one of them just giving them my best fucking effort. I ain’t scared of a single soul, man.”
It’s not a matter of being scared. It’s a matter of being strategic. The Chiefs rested players. Along the way, they kept the Bengals out.
And the Bengals have been a problem for the Chiefs. They’ve made the playoffs twice in quarterback Joe Burrow’s five-year career. In 2021, the Bengals beat the Chiefs in overtime of the AFC Championship. The next year, the Bengals pushed the Chiefs to the limit at the same level.
Two quarterbacks have beaten Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs: Tom Brady and Joe Burrow. If the Chiefs could swap out a team led by Burrow for a division rival with a rookie quarterback, why wouldn’t they?
Besides, the Chiefs would be stupid to not dismiss the narrative that they don’t want to cross paths with the Bengals. They eventually will, at some point. For now, Broncos coach Sean Payton could get plenty of mileage out of the idea that the Chiefs wanted the Broncos to make the playoffs because it would be easier to beat them — if the Broncos upset the Bills this weekend.