Super Bowl notebook: Travis Kelce, Andy Reid make up after incident
Chiefs coach Andy Reid was none the worse for wear after he was bumped into and knocked off balance by an irate Travis Kelce in the first half of Sunday’s 25-22 overtime victory over the 49ers in Super Bowl 58 at Allegiant Stadium.
The coach’s feelings weren’t hurt, either.
“He came over and gave me a hug, said ‘Sorry about that,’ ” Reid said. “He just wants to be on the field, and he wants to play. There’s nobody I get better than I get him. He’s a competitive kid, and he loves to play. He makes me feel young.”
Kelce was a bit sheepish when informed after the game that the incident was caught on camera.
“Oh, you guys saw that?” he said with a smile.
Kelce appeared to be upset that he was taken out of the game for a red-zone play in the second quarter with the Chiefs still scoreless.
An Isiah Pacheco fumble gave the ball to the 49ers.
Kelce appeared to be yelling as he approached Reid and got a bit too close, causing a quick stumble from the 65-year-old coach.
The star tight end chose to keep the details of what he said and what was at the heart of his displeasure to himself, though he conceded it might be exposed by a mic’d up video at some point.
“I was just telling him how much I love him,” he said jokingly.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was quick to downplay the incident.
“That moment right there speaks to the team we are,” he said after winning his third Super Bowl with Kelce and Reid. “Everybody loves it, everybody loves the game and wants to compete. And Coach Reid wants to compete, and if you don’t watch out, you might get a little of it, too. That’s the mentality we’ve always had, and that’s why we win games like we won (Sunday).”
Full circle
As a party raged in the Chiefs’ locker room full of cigar smoke with loud music blaring and champagne bottles popping, defensive tackle Neil Farrell sat contemplatively at his locker.
The 25-year-old wanted to take a moment to think about how his journey had come full circle.
Farrell, a 2022 fourth-round pick of the Raiders, was now a Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs after being traded to Kansas City late in training camp this season.
Now he was in the middle of a celebration with his Chiefs teammate in the Allegiant Stadium home locker room he occupied with the Raiders.
“It feels amazing,” he said quietly amid the chaos. “From where I started to get drafted by the Raiders and get traded to the Chiefs and come back to Vegas to win a Super Bowl? I couldn’t have pictured this happening any better.”
“I’m just soaking it all in. I’m so grateful. I’ve come a long way. My opportunity came, and I just took advantage of it.”
Farrell was credited with a tackle and a pass defended. He admitted it added a bit to the Super Bowl title to do it at Allegiant Stadium and celebrate in the Raiders’ locker room.
“For me, it is more special,” he said. “Just because the journey is coming full circle back to where I began my NFL career.”
Surprise deferral
Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling said he didn’t expect the 49ers to take the ball first when they won the coin toss in overtime considering the new rules for extra sessions in the postseason.
He appeared to indicate the Chiefs planned on deferring had they won the toss.
“We were glad they took the ball because we would know how many points we needed to win the game,” he said. “ I was surprised they took it. But every coach’s philosophy is a little different, and I think my coach has a better philosophy.”
Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton said the most plausible explanation is that the San Francisco defense had just been on the field for a game-tying drive by the Chiefs at the end of regulation.
“I think as a defensive player it’s a little disrespectful,” he said. “But at the same time, you understand that their defense was out there the whole last minute and a half. So the legs are a little bit tired. Yeah, that’s part of it.”
Record-setter
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker wasn’t aware that his counterpart, Jake Moody, had set an NFL record for the longest field goal in a Super Bowl when he made a 55-yarder in the first half.
It didn’t last long anyway.
Butker connected on a 57-yard field goal in the third quarter to set a standard.
“I didn’t know any of it, but I saw it when they put up a graphic on the jumbotron saying I broke his record,” Butker said. “It’s obviously pretty cool to have it. Thankfully, it’s an indoor game, so we knew if we got to the 40 we were confident.”
Butker said he was confident to about 64 yards based on how warmups went on the field.
Comeback kids
The Chiefs improved to 5-1 in the postseason since 2019 when they trail by at least 10 points at any point in the game.
Valdes-Scantling pointed to the heroics of Mahomes as the reason.
“With (No.) 15 under center, I believe anything is possible,” he said.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.