Super Bowl LVIII featured an extremely heated interaction between Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce and head coach Andy Reid, though you’d have barely realized it was consequential the way CBS broadcasters Jim Nantz and Tony Romo reacted to it.
The moment came after Kelce was taken out of the game during a critical red-zone play and replaced by tight end Noah Gray. The play resulted in a fumble after Gray struggled to help block for Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco.
Ball is loose. Deommodore Lenoir knocks the ball out and the @49ers defense forces a turnover!
📺: #SBLVIII on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/dClcEDViWl pic.twitter.com/PeAeIgfScU— NFL (@NFL) February 12, 2024
After the broadcast came back from a commercial break, Kelce was shown irate on the sidelines, directly in the face of Reid screaming about wanting to stay in the game in that situation. Kelce even appeared to knock into Reid, pushing him off balance, which isn’t a great look.
Travis Kelce is quite frustrated. 😲 #SuperBowlLVIII pic.twitter.com/NwNRfrLXxs
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) February 12, 2024
Romo attempted to break down the situation during a replay of the altercation, largely absolving Kelce of any blame.
“After the fumble, he comes over to Andy (Reid). He goes ‘Keep me in,'” said Romo. “What happened on the fumble is he wasn’t in. Noah Gray went in and he had to block.”
This was the only thing said of the interaction from Nantz or Romo for the entire first half, which is a bit shocking considering how intense the moment appeared to be.
Many CBS viewers largely thought that this situation needed much more commentary, especially when it came to criticism towards Kelce for the immature blowup during the Super Bowl.
Neither Nantz or Romo had the sense to call Kelce out for bully-boying his coach
— bob raissman (@nydnraiss) February 12, 2024
Nantz and Romo underplayed Kelce going berserk on Andy Reid.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) February 12, 2024
The Super Bowl is obviously the biggest possible stage with emotions running wild. However, Kelce should have controlled his temper much better here, especially considering Reid is one of the most well-respected coaches in all of football. And the CBS broadcast seemed to miss the moment while social media ran wild with commentary about the interaction.