The Kansas City Chiefs’ primetime game against the Jacksonville Jaguars was already shaping up to be one of the most dramatic contests of the season. Still, one early touchdown sparked a debate that refused to fade. Jason Kelce has directly responded to the critics targeting his brother Travis’ controversial score while the Chiefs grapple with a frustrating loss.
Why Are Travis and Jason Kelce Backing the Chiefs’ Controversial Touchdown Call?
The controversy erupted during the first quarter of Monday Night Football when Patrick Mahomes found Travis Kelce cutting across the goal line for the opening touchdown. Officials initially flagged the play for possible offensive pass interference involving JuJu Smith-Schuster. After a brief huddle, however, they picked up the flag and allowed the touchdown to stand, giving the Chiefs a 7-0 lead. Despite that early momentum, Kansas City eventually fell 31-28 to Jacksonville.
That decision did not sit well with many NFL fans, who questioned whether the contact before the catch should have nullified the play. On the “New Heights podcast,” Jason Kelce addressed the criticism head-on, brushing off those who doubted the legality of the touchdown.
“A lot of people talking about the contact or whatever. They don’t know the rule, within a yard, yada yada yada,” he said.
Jason’s defense of his brother highlights a crucial nuance in NFL rules: receivers are allowed incidental contact within one yard of the line of scrimmage. In this case, the officials determined the play was legal, but the backlash from fans showed how polarizing such decisions can be, especially in the pivotal moments of high-stakes games.
Beyond the touchdown, frustration was running high in the Chiefs’ locker room. People’s Natasha Dye reported that Travis expressed his anger over how the team squandered a 14-point lead and committed “14 f—ing penalties.”
He admitted that losing despite outgaining their opponents was “so frustrating,” while crediting Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence for leading the comeback.
Mahomes echoed those sentiments after the game, telling reporters that the Chiefs had “lost too many games already” due to penalties and mistakes. The star quarterback emphasized that the team’s problems were self-inflicted, saying, “We have the guys and we’ve executed at certain points in games and looked really good, but we crush ourselves.”
Despite the setback, Travis clarified that the team’s ambitions have not changed. Before kickoff, he reiterated that for the Chiefs, “The expectations every single year, year in and year out, is Super Bowl or failure.”
The Chiefs may have left Jacksonville with more questions than answers, but Jason’s comments made one clear: the Kelce brothers are not backing down from critics, and the team is not ready to panic yet.