Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce denied that the team intentionally lost its Week 18 game to ensure that the Cincinnati Bengals were eliminated from playoff contention.

The Cincinnati Bengals are not one of those teams, seeing their playoff hopes fade away after the Broncos blew out the Chiefs’ second-stringers in Week 18. Amid unfounded rumors that the Chiefs purposefully gave up during their loss to Denver to ensure the Bengals would be eliminated,

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end is making it clear that there's no truth to the rumors his team intentionally lost its game in Week 18 to shut the Cincinnati Bengals out from the NFL playoffs. The idea popped up on social media last weekend, largely from Bengals fans who believed the Chiefs were afraid to face them in the playoffs.

The Cincinnati Bengals didn't get another shot at the Kansas City Chiefs this season because they fell short of the playoffs at 9-8. Along the way, fans pointed out on social media that the Chiefs did

Tight end Travis Kelce talked about Cincinnati fans saying the Chiefs threw the season finale to block the Bengals from the postseason.

Top-seeded Kansas City sitting its starters against Denver didn't prevent plenty of skeptics from suggesting the Chiefs surrendered in order to prevent the Bengals from making the playoffs. Travis Kelce scoffed at such a thought.

The Bengals closed the campaign with five straight victories and could have featured the league's MVP winner for the regular season had they made the playoffs.

Despite the Chiefs eliminating the Bengals by losing in Week 18, Travis Kelce wanted Cincinnati in the playoffs, he says.