Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce denied that the team intentionally lost its Week 18 game to ensure that the Cincinnati Bengals were eliminated from playoff contention.

Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt then caught wind of that and sent a reply during his Instagram stories: It’s all silly noise, really. But if nothing else, it shows that this rivalry is alive and well, no questions asked. Read all the best Bengals coverage at Cincinnati.com and Bengals Wire.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end is making it clear that there's no truth to the rumors his team intentionally lost its game in Week 18 to shut the Cincinnati Bengals out from the NFL playoffs. The idea popped up on social media last weekend, largely from Bengals fans who believed the Chiefs were afraid to face them in the playoffs.

Tight end Travis Kelce talked about Cincinnati fans saying the Chiefs threw the season finale to block the Bengals from the postseason.

Top-seeded Kansas City sitting its starters against Denver didn't prevent plenty of skeptics from suggesting the Chiefs surrendered in order to prevent the Bengals from making the playoffs. Travis Kelce scoffed at such a thought.

Despite some alluding to the Chiefs' Week 18 loss being intentional, Kelce silenced that with a rant on his latest podcast.

The Bengals closed the campaign with five straight victories and could have featured the league's MVP winner for the regular season had they made the playoffs.