In response to the contentious offside call against teammate Kadarius Toney during Sunday’s 20-17 home loss to the Buffalo Bills, tight end Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs has spoken out.
With just over a minute left, trailing by three points, Kelce snagged a ball from Patrick Mahomes and lateraled it to Toney for what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown. However, a Toney offensive offside penalty resulted in the TD being called back.
Play was called back but can't believe Kelce tried this 😮
📺: #BUFvsKC on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/pWMED8SAQa pic.twitter.com/LREwwhaQ1N— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2023
Two plays later, the Bills forced a turnover on downs to complete the game-saving victory. Following the game, Mahomes lost it on the referees, and in their post-game press conferences, both he and head coach Andy Reid attacked them.
In an interview with Sarah Hearon of Us Weekly, Kelce discussed the brave highlight reel move that was called back on the most recent episode of the “New Heights” podcasts he co-hosts with his brother Jason Kelce.
“I saw [KT] out of the corner of my eye in a lateral position — in a position where I knew if I could get him the ball, I knew he had space to score a touchdown. It was extremely close, so you probably won’t see me doing that every single game. I promise you guys. You guys, that was a little too close for comfort.”
Travis Kelce speaks about the dubious call
Following the defeat, Kelce also shared his message with Toney, stating that he disagreed with the referee’s choice to flag his teammate at that point in the contest:
“I went up to KT today, and I told ’em, I was like, ‘Man, we had that place (expletive) rocking. Oh man, that crowd, Arrowhead, was on fire after that play.’ I told him, I was like, ‘Hey man, we’re just going to have to do it again, big dog.’ You can say what you want about him being in the neutral zone here and there (or say), ‘He lined up like that all game, didn’t get warned, blah, blah, blah. Don’t call it in that position.’ You can’t put it in the ref’s hands in that position. We’ve talked about plays like this all the time, especially in critical moments…
I love KT. If we get the opportunity again, I’m going to throw that (expletive) right into his chest again. Hopefully he gets there and I got all the faith in the world [in] that dude, he’s one of our best players. He’s one of the best players we got with the ball in his hands. You turn on the film, you watch what he does when the ball’s in his hands and you can’t tell me you don’t want that guy in your team, man. So everybody hating on KT right now? I’m not trying to hear that. You can (expletive) miss me with it. I’m trusting in 19 every time he’s out there on the field.”
Only 25 receptions for 164 yards and one touchdown have been made this season by the Super Bowl 57 hero. The onus is on Toney and the other receivers to perform better than ever if the defending champions are to make another deep run in January.