"I felt the ball hit the ground": Travis Kelce makes his feelings known on controversial dropped catch from Chiefs win over Lions in Week 6

Travis Kelce hasn't had the most dominant year of his career, but the Kansas City Chiefs tight end has managed to keep both hands on his football career. What he wasn't able to do was keep both hands on the ball and complete the process of a catch against the Detroit Lions, at least according to some fans.

Facing the Lions in the game, Patrick Mahomes targeted Kelce on a relatively routine play, but plenty of drama was sparked based on how the catch went down. The referees ruled the play a catch, despite it hitting the ground. Kelce spoke about the play on a Wednesday edition of "New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce."

"When I caught the ball, I felt the ball hit the ground," Kelce said. "Doesn't mean I didn't have possession of it, it's in my hand. The ball hits the ground, I don't know if they're gonna try and at least give this a chance. "And now it's out of our hands, it's in the booth and in my mind, I'm like, it might be smart if we just did a quick ... get up here and go. And I think everybody kind of felt the exact same way."

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The Chiefs were able to rush up and run another play that resulted in a touchdown. Of course, most teams try to rush into the next play after a controversial play that went their way to avoid any chance of review. Those attempts often come up short, but the Chiefs were able to pull it off against the Lions.

Post-game scuffle sparks between Travis Kelce's Chiefs and Lions defender

Travis Kelce at Detroit Lions v Kansas City Chiefs - NFL 2025 - Source: Getty

The Kansas City Chiefs found themselves in a desperate situation heading into the game at 2-3. The Detroit Lions had a chance to potentially hit the Chiefs with a record impossible to overcome. However, they came up short. After Travis Kelce's Chiefs kneeled the ball for the final time, ending the game, a post-game skirmish erupted as the coaches and benches emptied to shake hands.

Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and Lions safety Brian Branch found themselves in a skirmish, surrounded by players.

Mike Tirico noted that the officials left the fight alone, walking away. They seemingly appeared to believe they had no reason to get involved with the game concluded.

Cameras caught Patrick Mahomes attempting to give a handshake at the end of the contest to Branch, but it was ignored. Smith-Schuster appeared to be unhappy with the sight, and Branch threw a punch, hitting the wide receiver in the helmet. The two then rolled around, causing the Chiefs and Lions to swarm.

The two separated eventually, and Kelce, along with the NFL zeitgeist, watched the Lions safety suffer a one-game suspension on Monday. Smith-Schuster is expected to be active next week against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Edited by Ian Van Roy