Like many Chiefs fans, head coach Andy Reid was confused as to why Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart was not ejected for striking Travis Kelce in the head during Friday night's season opener.
Tart was penalized for unnecessary roughness in the third quarter of the Chargers' 27-21 win over the Chiefs in Brazil after hitting Kelce in the helmet in the aftermath of a Kareem Hunt run. Tart remained in the game following the blow to Kelce's head and then played a role down the stretch in holding off the reigning AFC champions.
Reid said on Monday that he didn't understand why Tart was not removed from the game for his aggressive post-play strike of Kelce.
"I don't understand that rule," Reid told reporters. "I guess it's open-hand, fist, whatever, I don't know. I don't know what their decision was on that. But he definitely got hit in the head pretty hard whether it was an open first or a closed fist."
Reid was asked if he planned to get clarification from the NFL on the play.
"I'll work out that with the league," he said. "I can't get into all that."
According to the official NFL rulebook, a player will be automatically disqualified if that player is penalized twice in the same game for committing one of the following unsportsmanlike conduct fouls or a combination of the following fouls:
- Throwing a punch, or a forearm, or kicking at an opponent, even though no contact is made.
- Using abusive, threatening, or insulting language or gestures to opponents, teammates, officials, or representatives of the league.
- Using baiting or taunting acts or words that may engender ill will between teams.
NBC's Terry McAuley said on the broadcast Friday that NFL officiating and rules analyst Walt Anderson said Tart was not ejected "because it was an open hand contact to the head that was not a disqualifying action. On this one, they felt that it was just an open hand blow to the head, not a closed fist, not a punch, and they did not disqualify in this case."
It does appear on tape that Tart slaps Kelce with an open hand and not a closed fist.
The tiff over Tart comes as the NFL is emphasizing penalizing players for unsportsmanlike conduct this season, with Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter's ejection for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott at the beginning of Thursday's Kickoff Game a primary early example.
Tart finished Friday's game with one tackle, two passes defensed and an DM inbox filled with unhappy Chiefs fans and Kelce supporters.
The sixth-year defensive tackle played up the exchange, taunting Kelce and his fans with a social media post reading, "I'm too swift with it even in Brazil," a reference to the Chiefs TE's fiancée, Taylor Swift.
Kelce and the Chiefs will next face Tart and the Bolts in Week 15 in Kansas City.
