Travis Kelce thanked Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker for keeping an extra gift in his back pocket on Christmas Day.
Kelce, 35, took an unsportsmanlike penalty for his touchdown celebration on Wednesday, December 25, slamming the football through the goalpost as an homage to Tony Gonzalez, who Kelce had just surpassed on the Chiefs’ all-time touchdown receptions list.
As a result, Butker, 29, was forced to kick a 48-yard extra point, instead of the usual 33-yard attempt, thanks to Kelce’s 15-yard penalty.
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After the game, Kelce told reporters he wasn’t concerned in the slightest about what his penalty might incur.
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“I knew the score,” he said. “I knew my guy Harrison had my back on the field goal.”
Kelce’s fourth quarter touchdown and Butker’s ensuing extra point put the Chiefs up 29-10 on the Pittsburgh Steelers, which would end up being the final score. The victory guaranteed Kansas City the No. 1 seed in the AFC, ensuring a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Butker returned to the Chiefs lineup during the team’s December 15 game against the Cleveland Browns after missing the previous four games with a meniscus tear in his left knee.
Currently in his eighth season with Kansas City, Butker stoked controversy for his commencement address at Benedictine College in May when he called on women to embrace the role of “homemaker” and equated Pride Month to a “deadly sin,” among other inflammatory comments.
As for the touchdown celebration itself, Kelce was happy to honor Gonzalez, 48, who spent the first 12 seasons of his illustrious NFL career with the Chiefs.
“It’s showing Tony some love and just a big tribute to who he’s been, not only in this organization, but who he’s been for football,” Kelce said. “We know how iconic it was that he would dunk the ball through the goalpost all the time.”
Kelce added with a smile, “I gave it my best effort. I don’t know if I did it quite like him. I gave it a run.”
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The Christmas Day win improved Kansas City’s record to an NFL-best 14-1, and Kelce argued the team is hitting its peak after a season filled with close calls and nail-biters.
“It’s fun building the chemistry of a team,” Kelce said. “I can look back on a lot of the teams that we had success on and those were the most fun teams to be on. You could feel it in the building. Right now, it’s just such a blast coming in and going to work with the guys that we have. It’s more unique and more different than any year I’ve ever been a part of because of the way we’ve won and how we’ve had to keep focusing on getting better.”
He continued, “The chemistry is at an all-time high right now and I’m excited that we’ve found a way to get the No. 1 seed and we’re going into the playoffs playing our best football.”
The Chiefs will close out the regular season on Sunday, January 5, against the Denver Broncos. Given their first-round bye, Kansas City will open their playoff quest for a third-consecutive Super Bowl title in the NFL Divisional Round, which kicks off January 18.
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