Kansas City Chief’s head coach Andy Reid has benched Travis Kelce ahead of tonight’s final regular season game.
The team already grabbed the 2023 AFC West division title after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 25-17 on New Year’s Eve. So tonight’s matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers is nothing more than a formality.
It’s assumed that the “coaching decision” to pull Kelce is to ensure he’s not injured ahead of the NFL playoffs. But that choice ends Kelce’s eight-year 1,000-yard streak. As of tonight, the tight end has only notched 984 yards.
Next weekend, the Chiefs will play a home-field game against the No. 6 seed team during the playoff’s wild-card round. As of yet, the team sitting in that seed has not been determined.
Chiefs Fans Want Travis Kelce to Get His Final 16 Yards
While most Chief fans are at peace with the fact that the star players will be watching tonight’s game from the sidelines—they hate that he couldn’t grab his final 16 yards so he could keep his 1,000-yard streak going.
“Imagine not letting him get 16 yards before benching him,” one person commented under the team’s announcement.
“THE STREAK IS OVER NOOOO,” another person mourned.
However, some people praised the decision. They believe the streak is nothing compared to a possible Super Bowl win, so they’re openly supporting the choice.
“Good decision,” someone wrote. “There’s no reason to play him and risk an injury for a stat that doesn’t mean anything. He’s already the best receiving tight end of all time.”
“Good call,” added another fan. “Need the big dawg. Rest him. He’s old and slow. Lost his swag & descending. Let’s go Chiefs?”
The Kansas City Chiefs are currently sitting comfortably as the No. 3 seed, which means they can breathe easy during week 18. Because of that, Coach Reid has benched several other star players, including Patrick Mahomes.