Travis Kelce goes after Justin Tucker for “poking the bear” in AFC Championship pregame: “Don’t paint me as the bad guy”

After finishing the regular season with an 11-6 record, doubts loomed over the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl prospects, particularly against the formidable Baltimore Ravens. However, Travis Kelce and his team silenced critics with a commanding performance that left the Ravens with their worst showing.

Following the emphatic victory, the Chiefs are now focused on the ultimate goal – securing back-to-back Super Bowl wins. Yet, the lingering topic in the headlines is the pregame altercation between the players of the team during the NFL Conference Championship game.

Travis Kelce blasts Justin Tucker over pregame shenanigans

In a recent appearance on the “New Height podcast” alongside his brother Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce strongly criticized Justin Tucker for a pregame incident. The tight end pointed out that Tucker violated an unwritten rule of the game by placing his helmet, football, and kicking tee near where the Chiefs’ players were warming up.

“That’s the unwritten rule. If you want to be a fucking dick about it, you keep your helmet and your football, and your fucking kicking tee right where the quarterbacks are warming up. And they’re dropping, eyes are looking left and they’ve got a helmet down by their feet.”

The frustration reached a boiling point about 90 minutes before kickoff which was captured vividly in the video footage. Mahomes took it upon himself to toss Tucker’s kicking tee aside multiple times. Travis Kelce, not one to shy away from defending his teammates, joined the fray by kicking Tucker’s footballs out of the way and tossing his helmet aside.

While Tucker’s habit of warming up in the opponent’s area may have been routine for him, the Chiefs were not willing to overlook it. In response, the 34-year-old Kelce made it clear that the provocation originated from Tucker, and his reaction was a response to the perceived disrespect.

“If you wanna be a f***ing dick about it, you keep your helmet, and your football and your f***ing kicking tee right where the quarterbacks are warming up. … Don’t paint me as the bad guy. He was poking the bear.”

Before his tight end mate, Patrick Mahomes had already voiced his displeasure. The Chief’s starter revealed that this was the third time he faced a situation where a kicker hindered his warm-up routine after being a full-time starter.

Tucker downplayed pregame exchange with Chiefs stars

Despite the pregame altercation that grabbed many headlines, Justin Tucker downplayed the incident following the Ravens’ 17-10 loss. Addressing the issue, Tucker expressed his surprise at the attention it garnered, deeming it “silly” to even discuss something he viewed as trivial.

“I find it kind of silly that we’re even having to address it or talk about something that happened before the game that I really don’t see as a big deal,” Tucker told reporters.

For Tucker, the encounter was nothing more than “gamesmanship” and ” good fun.” He recounted moving his helmet aside when Mahomes approached, believing it was enough to accommodate the quarterbacks’ warm-up area.

“I happily got up and moved my helmet out of the way, at least I thought it was enough out of the way. And then Travis comes over and he just kicks my stuff, he throws my helmet. I thought it was all just some gamesmanship, all in good fun. But they seemed to be taking it a little more seriously.”

However, when the Chiefs’ tight end joined in by kicking his belongings, Tucker interpreted it as playful banter rather than a serious altercation.

What’s your opinion over the high-heated exchange between the Chiefs and Ravens player?