Travis Kelce breaks silence on controversial call that enraged NFL fans and sparked new Chiefs 'cheating' claims

Travis Kelce has admitted he got away with a 'questionable' call that infuriated NFL fans and prompted conspiracy theorists to claim the NFL is rigged in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs kickstarted their 2026 season with a dominant 31-10 victory over the Denver Broncos on Monday night.

But the Chiefs, who are looking to return to the Super Bowl after a miserable 2025 season saw them miss out on the playoffs entirely, became embroiled in controversy after just one game.  

After getting an interception on Bo Nix, the team strung together a clinical drive down the field thanks to the help of new addition, Super Bowl champion Kenneth Walker III. 

Mahomes, returning from a brutal knee injury, led the charge before bursting into the end zone for the Chiefs' first touchdown. However, NFL analysts and fans claimed that the officials missed an obvious holding call from Kelce.

Addressing the incident on the latest episode of New Heights with his brother Jason, Kelce appeared to admit he was lucky not to be flagged by the officials. 

'It was definitely a questionable play,' the tight end said.

'That's one of those where you get up slowly, like "please don't let there be any laundry on the field". Had a man up by his neck. Can't do it. Almost cost us.

'And, to be honest, that would have been Pat Mahomes' second rushing touchdown called back in two plays because we literally did the same thing. That would have taken us out of the red zone.

'That was risky business, right there. Technically I didn't grab anything, I just kind of hugged him.'

The alleged missed call sparked outrage on social media with many claiming the referees were biased towards Kansas City. 

'Refs not calling holding on Neph [Kelce] is crazy,' former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe wrote on X.

'Refs gave Kelce a little belated wedding present not calling that hold,' posted Skip Bayless, referring to the tight end's marriage to Taylor Swift this summer. 

One fan shared: 'Refs gonna miss a clear hold from Kelce. NFL's golden girls.' 

'Refs helping Mahomes. We can now officially say that football is back,' claimed another. 

'The amount of holding they let Chiefs get away with is mind boggling,' said a third. 

'Death, taxes, and the chiefs not being called for holding,' bemoaned a fourth. 

'@NFL refs always helping the chiefs. So many no holding calls against kc,' alleged another.

Kelce was delighted with the Chiefs' performance and heaped praise on his teammates for their perfect performance.

'My initial thoughts were this has been brewing for a while and, in the building, everyone knows what I'm talking about,' he continued.

'From the start of the offseason through to training camp, the mentality we've had to fix the things we needed to fix, to clean up a lot of small things, to really reinvent the culture of how we do things in Kansas City.

'We feel like we've got a great team and this team loves each other man and that's one of the biggest things. When you get a group of men that have one goal in mind and want to attack that goal every single day for the betterment of the guy next to them, it's a special feeling. I just absolutely love this team and you could tell how much we loved each other out there on the field.

'When Arrowhead is rocking like that on a Monday night it's a feeling that I don't ever want to stop feeling and that's what keeps me coming back and playing every single year and what gets me excited during the work week. 

'It was a great all around game for us and we know that not all of them are going to be like that, it's the NFL. But to have an entire season and come out in Week 1 and put it all together that was a fun one.'