In a tense scene towards the end of the first half, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was headbutted by a rival Buffalo Bills player in the AFC Championship game.
Kelce was celebrating as Patrick Mahomes scampered for a touchdown to put the Chiefs up 21-10.
The tight end started chirping at Bills safety Damar Hamlin – who was too late to tackle the Chiefs quarterback.
In an effort to defend his teammate, Bills defensive lineman Jordan Phillips ran over and headbutted Kelce.
Officials immediately threw a flag and hit Phillips with an unnecessary roughness penalty. They did not penalize Kelce for his instigating.
Fans on social media immediately began criticizing Kelce for his move after his team went up by two scores.
Travis Kelce taunted an opponent and then got headbutted in the AFC Championship game
Kelce (center) celebrated by mocking Bills safety Damar Hamlin (R) after scoring a touchdown
Then, Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips came in and headbutted Kelce, drawing a penalty
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‘Kelce comes in to talk sh*t then immediately tries to flop and draws an unnecessary roughness penalty. Honestly the Chiefs are the most unlikeable team in NFL history,’ wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.
‘Kelce taunts the defender after the TD right in front of the official, official eats his flag. Fine. Another player comes up and confronts the taunting… flag thrown. Not fine. That ain’t gonna to much to slow the KC flag favoritism narrative,’ said another user.
Another said, ‘Refs miss the flag on Kelce for taunting and then get Phillips when he provides backup. A ref is right there. When has the NFL allowed a player to get in another opponents face like this?’
‘Absolutely dying at Travis Kelce reacting to a mild bump (after talking s*** to Damar Hamlin) like he just got shot,’ said another user.
Another user said, ‘lol they be letting kelce do whatever. He don’t get flagged.’
The scamper by Mahomes put the Chiefs up 21-10. On the next drive, Bills quarterback Josh Allen fired a deep touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir to make it 21-16 going into the half following a failed two-point conversion.