Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce seemed to benefit from favorable officiating during Sunday night's AFC Championship win over the Buffalo Bills as the referees missed what appeared to be a clear taunting penalty on Kelce.
Late in the second quarter, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes scrambled out of the pocket and dashed toward the end zone, scoring a touchdown with his legs.
As Mahomes crossed the plane into the end zone, Bills safety Damar Hamlin delivered a hit to Mahomes, bringing the quarterback to the ground.
Immediately Mahomes went to the ground, Kelce ran up to Hamlin, got in his face, shook his head, and smiled at the Bills defender - though it's not clear what exactly he was saying to the opponent.
By the NFL's rulebook, this clearly should have been an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Kelce.
The NFL prohibits " abusive, threatening, or insulting language or gestures to opponents" as well as "baiting or taunting acts or words that may engender ill will between teams." Kelce getting in Hamlin's face after a legal hit was unmistakably taunting, which should have resulted in a penalty.
Still, the referees opted not to throw a flag, and it seemed like Kelce got some special treatment from the officials.
"Travis Kelce has a special ability in the NFL where he is the only person who is allowed to taunt their opponent and not get a flag called!" one fan commented in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
While Kelce avoided punishment for taunting, Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was penalized after stepping in and head-butting Kelce to break up the confrontation with Hamlin.
As for the game itself, the Chiefs beat the Bills, securing their spot in the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season.