Travis Kelce: Chris Jones penalty made us rally together and fight for each other

Monday night’s addition to the list of questionable roughing the passer calls went against the Chiefs on the field, but it may have turned out to be just what the team needed.

No one in red at Arrowhead Stadium agreed with referee Carl Cheffers’ belief that Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones roughed Raiders quarterback Derek Carr while stripping him of the ball on a sack and the booing only got louder when the Raiders extended their lead to 20-7 a short time later. Those boos would switch to cheering for the home team by the end of the third quarter, however.

The Chiefs rallied for a field goal before halftime and they took the lead on two Travis Kelce touchdown catches in the third quarter. Kelce would add a third score in the fourth quarter and the Chiefs held on for a 30-29 win in a game they once trailed by 17 points. After the game, Kelce credited the penalty and the team’s anger about it with fueling the comeback.

“All it did was just, you know, almost build the beast,” Kelce said, via Nate Taylor of TheAthletic.com. “It made us rally together and fight for each other. When you see that out of us, man, we know we can play some good football.”

The Chiefs certainly showed that before the night was out, but the mix of a slow start and a controversial call probably isn’t one they want to repeat too often.