Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has played down his latest sideline spat with Travis Kelce, insisting he loves that his tight end is a ‘passionate guy’.
Almost 18 months since their viral bust-up at Super Bowl LVIII, Kelce and Reid clashed once again in a shocking moment during the Chiefs’ 22-9 win over the New York Giants on Sunday night.
As Kelce walked off the field at MetLife Stadium following another poor play, Reid could be seen screaming at him and, rather than take it in his stride, the former instead gave it right back to his coach.
The 67-year-old then crashed into him before they were seen exchanging furious words between plays, with NBC announcer Mike Tirico saying ‘you can sense the frustration on both sides of that story.’
Yet following the victory, Reid was quick to brush off his argument with Kelce in New Jersey, stressing that it simply comes with the territory.
‘He’s a passionate guy and I love that part,’ he said in his postgame press conference. ‘I’ve been through a lot of things with him, that’s all part of it.
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid has played down his latest sideline spat with Travis Kelce
Reid said he loves that Kelce is a ‘passionate guy’ after their win over the New York Giants
‘I love that he loves to play the game, that’s what I love. And it’s an emotional game, so I’ll take it.’
When the incident occurred in the first half, Kelce had just two catches for four yards – with the 0-2 Chiefs having to settle for two field goals against the Giants, who also entered the game 0-2.
Things went from bad to worse shortly after when New York rookie Cam Skattebo scored his second NFL touchdown to level the score at 6-6, before Reid’s men managed to sneak a 9-6 lead at halftime.
In the end the Chiefs did get a 1 in the win column, with two second-half touchdowns enough to seal a 22-9 win and get their season back on the right track.
Kelce, meanwhile, hauled in four of seven attempted catches for 26 yards – far from the numbers he will have hoped to put up.
The Chiefs headed to New Jersey desperately hoping to turn their season around after back-to-back losses to start the campaign.
In the opener, Kelce and Co headed to Sao Paulo, where they were beaten by the Los Angeles Chargers, and then they lost to the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2 last weekend.
Unlike at his 2024 Super Bowl meltdown, Travis was not watched by Taylor Swift on Sunday night, with the pop superstar opting to skip the game amid recent safety concerns.
Swift turned up at Arrowhead behind what was believed to be a bulletproof screen last weekend, and this week she decided to skip the game entirely.
