Travis Kelce addresses the trash talk and rivalry between Bengals and Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce threw down some big trash talk after upending the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game.

A few days later, he’s hoping a big part of his life — Cincinnati — doesn’t hold a grudge.

Kelce, appearing on his “New Heights” podcast with brother and fellow University of Cincinnati graduate Jason Kelce, said the following when asked if they were banned from Cincinnati: “I hope not. I’m repping the Nati hard all the time, man. That was a huge point in my life.”

Kelce took shots at the whole “Burrowhead” fiasco after the game and then understand took aim at the mayor of Cincinnati’s universally panned pregame trash talk.

The star tight end added the following on the podcast:

“It’s fun banter at the end of the day, but I don’t want this to get away from how much I respect the Bengals — the coaches, the players on that team. All those guys across the board on the offensive side are absolutely spectacular and… that defense, I don’t know if I’ve played a defense that plays more together than that team.”

Kelce went as far as even praising Eli Apple, the Bengals corner who sits as perhaps the most polarizing player in the league.

Interestingly, these comments pretty much exactly mirror Joe Burrow’s own thoughts on all the trash talk — something that was proof enough by what he told Patrick Mahomes right after the game.

So while the Bengals and Chiefs might be newfound rivals headed for a fifth collision next season, some of the star players involved feel the same way about the banter around the actual games.