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We were treated to a little bit of drama prior to the AFC Championship courtesy of Justin Tucker and a couple of members of the Chiefs, and the Ravens kicker shared his side of the story after the pregame “incident” attracted a fair amount of attention.
The stakes were obviously very high when the Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday to determine which team would represent the AFC in Super Bowl LVIII. There wasn’t an inordinate amount of bad blood between the two squads, but it was hard to ignore what unfolded prior to kickoff.
Ravens kicker Justin Tucker decided to set up shop on the goal line on the side of the field where Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were warming up, and based on a video that made the rounds, Travis Kelce took exception to that move and responded by tossing his opponent’s equipment toward the back of the end zone.
Travis Kelce told Justin Tucker he needed to move because their QB Patrick Mahomes had to warm up. So Kelce kicked his ball away and threw his helmet. 😂 pic.twitter.com/pFF0DC1yA7
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 28, 2024
There were plenty of people who noted it wasn’t rare for kickers to get some reps on both sides of the field to get a feel for the wind before a game, but based on the look on Tucker’s face, it didn’t seem like a stretch to assume he was engaging in some gamesmanship in an attempt to get under the skin of his foes.
According to The Washington Post, he got the chance to explain himself while clearing out his locker for the season on Monday and asserted he wasn’t going out of his way to try to rile up the Chiefs, saying:
“The way it works is each team’s kicker goes to the other team’s designated warmup area on the field. For me, it’s usually about 90 minutes before kickoff. I’ve been doing the exact same thing for 12 years. Never really had a problem with anybody…
I saw Patrick there trying to warm up and get some dropbacks. He asked me while I was on the ground stretching if I could move my helmet. I happily got up and I moved my helmet out of the way—at least I thought it was enough out of the way—and then Travis comes over and just kicks my stuff and 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.”
If Tucker was trying to throw the Chiefs off of their game, he didn’t succeed, as Kansas City walked away with the 17-10 victory.