Travis Kelce has a knack for trash-talking and playing mind games to throw his opponents off. NFL stars like Fred Warner have openly expressed frustration over what he gets away with on game days (via the Pat McAfee Show). The Super Bowl last Sunday was no different, as Kelce attempted to instigate three separate scuffles with the Eagles. However, they stayed focused and didn’t fall for his antics—something former Packers QB Kurt Benkert praised the Eagles’ defense for.
Advertisement
Benkert posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) highlighting several moments during the Super Bowl where Kelce got in defenders’ faces. First, he bumped shoulders with C.J. Gardner-Johnson after taking a big hit to his lower back on his way back to the huddle. But Gardner-Johnson stood unfazed, holding his arms behind his back.
Then, Kelce got in the face of defensive tackle Jalen Carter after a play, but Carter also remained unfazed. Finally, Kelce was seen restraining another Eagles defensive tackle, Jordan Davis, as players sorted themselves out of a dogpile.
The video caught Benkert’s attention, and he decided to post his reaction. “The Eagles didn’t fall for this BS,” he wrote.
The Eagles didn’t fall for the BS pic.twitter.com/tINTLc6cxR
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) February 11, 2025
For Benkert, trash talk usually isn’t his thing. However, he admitted in a 2021 interview that he enjoyed trash-talking his teammates in Green Bay. But when it comes to opponents, he sees it as “BS”—a sign of desperation and weakness.
And that’s exactly what he believed Kelce was trying to do in the Super Bowl. With his team down big, Kelce was looking for a way to draw a free 15-yard penalty to move the ball down the field by any means possible.
Kelce got head-butted in the AFC Championship
Kelce was the center of a controversial penalty against Buffalo in the AFC Championship. He taunted Damar Hamlin for not making a tackle on Patrick Mahomes as he scampered into the end zone. This prompted Bills defensive lineman, Jordan Phillips, to run over and headbutt the tight end. Phillips was penalized for unnecessary roughness, while Kelce walked away like he had just gotten away with a crime.
To be fair, he kind of did. Kelce instigated the entire situation. No headbutt would’ve occurred if he didn’t get in the face of Hamlin.
The incident only fueled the narrative that the Chiefs get favorable calls from referees. And all of those narratives came to a head during the Super Bowl. The calls went against them for once. They also didn’t get any roughing the passer penalties, despite a pretty blatant one being missed late in the game. Everything the Chiefs had been criticized for throughout the season was exposed on Sunday.
Kansas City tried every trick in the book, and nothing worked. Bills fans were probably happy to see them get their butts kicked while Kelce was still trying to run his mouth. Trash talk is part of the game, but it falls flat when your team is getting blown out.
Kelce will still go down as one of the greatest trash talkers ever, but on Sunday, the Eagles got the best of him and didn’t take the bait.
