![\"Travis](\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/zw_cXWvFIo0iw1UJ_CTodRVr3Y0=\/1500x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)\/Travis-Kelce-Kansas-City-Chiefs-110624-be0f1b21b8d74ca5a34d973168891359.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>Travis Kelce\u00a0is setting the record straight!<\/p>\n
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end is making it clear that there’s no truth to the rumors his team intentionally lost its game in Week 18 to shut the Cincinnati Bengals out from the NFL playoffs.<\/p>\n
The idea popped up on social media last weekend, largely from Bengals fans who believed the Chiefs were afraid to face them in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ain\u2019t scared of f—ing nobody,” Kelce, 35, said during the Wednesday, Jan. 8 episode of his\u00a0New Heights<\/em>\u00a0podcast\u00a0alongside brother\u00a0Jason Kelce. “I wanted [the Bengals] in the f—ing playoffs. I want to slay every dragon one by one, like Mortal Kombat.”<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t even want this to be like we play the lowest seed. Just give me the best teams,” he continued. “AFC, NFC, give me all of them, Mortal Kombat-style. I\u2019ll go through every \u2026 one of them. I ain\u2019t scared of a single soul, man.”<\/p>\n The fired up Kelce then kept going, making it clear that the Chiefs aren’t intimidated by the Bengals on the field.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll play the [Bengals] at the Walmart parking lot,\u201d Kelce said. \u201cI don\u2019t give a s—.<\/p>\n “We can have our own game in the offseason where we really duke it out. Listen, I love competing against the greatest.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelce also took time out to offer a few kind words for the rival team, who ended up missing the playoffs despite finding their footing in the last few games of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bengals were a fun-ass team to watch there towards the end of the season, and it\u2019s a shame they didn\u2019t make it in the playoffs, because they would have made the playoffs that much crazier and that much more fun,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Jan. 5, the Kansas City Chiefs soundly lost to the Denver Broncos by a score of 0-38 \u2014 adding a dent to the team\u2019s impressive 15-2 record over 17 games.<\/p>\n The Chiefs rested top players like Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the matchup, as they had already secured the top overall seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye.<\/p>\n The Chiefs\u2019 race for a third consecutive Super Bowl win will begin with the divisional round the weekend of Jan. 18th and 19th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI\u2019ll play the [Bengals] at the Walmart parking lot,\u201d Kelce said. \u201cI don\u2019t give a s—,” Kelce said Travis Kelce.\u00a0Photo:\u00a0David Eulitt\/Getty Travis Kelce\u00a0is setting the record straight!… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Travis](\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/4tBYl3Mh0LcilCuKDzEY7Dmfrqs=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(728x430:730x432):format(webp)\/travis-kelce-010825-2-8d11ed1041a544d6b65d3c1f74c91df9.jpg\")
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