Week 18 did not exactly go as planned for the Kansas City Chiefs or Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals took care of business by picking up a crucial win over the Pittsburgh Steelers but the Denver Broncos' 38-0 shutout win over the Chiefs meant the Bengals had to miss the playoffs despite a late surge in the second half of the season.
The Chiefs rested a number of starters in Week 18 including Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Isiah Pacheco. When they were shut out by the Broncos with Carson Wentz under center, the Chiefs were accused of conspiring to keep Joe Burrow's Bengals out of the playoffs, given Burrow is 3-2 against the Chiefs in his career.
Kelce came out all guns blazing against those accusations on this week's episode of his New Heights podcast.
“I ain’t scared of f**king nobody. I wanted them in the 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. Give me the best teams, AFC/NFC. Give me all of them, Mortal Kombat style. I’ll go through every f**king one of them.
Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!
"I’ll play them at the Walmart parking lot. Listen, I love competing against the greatest. The Bengals were a fun a** team to watch there towards the end of the season. It’s a shame they didn’t make it in the playoffs because they would’ve made the playoffs that much f**king crazier and that much more fun.”
Given they will not be playing meaningful football this month, the Bengals' focus will now turn to investing in their defense and figuring out a way to keep Tee Higgins in town alongside Ja'Marr Chase.
Where Travis Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs stand in the NFL Playoffs
A majority of the Chiefs starters will have yet another week to sit back, get healthy and take in a weekend of action in the NFL Wild Card round.
Wild Card Weekend will kick off with the Los Angeles Chargers taking on the Houston Texans followed by a showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. The Denver Broncos vs Buffalo Bills matchup on Monday will wrap up the AFC's Wild Card schedule.
The Chiefs will play one of the Chargers, Steelers, Texans, or Broncos in the Divisional Round. Regardless of other results, on the off chance Denver beats Buffalo, they will travel to Arrowhead to take on the Chiefs, given they will be the lowest AFC seed left in the playoffs.
Also Read: Legendary Cowboys WR delivers eyebrow-raising Super Bowl prediction on Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs
Bengals Nation! Check out the latest Cincinnati Bengals Schedule and dive into the Bengals Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.