There was already some bad blood brewing between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens well before Sunday’s 3 p.m. kickoff for the AFC Championship Game.
During pregame warmups, both Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were seen tossing Ravens kicker Justin Tucker’s equipment away as the Chiefs players were trying to warm up near the end zone.
Tucker was nearby stretching while his tripod placeholder was by Mahomes, who picked it up and tossed it to the side multiple times.
Tucker also placed some balls and his helmet nearby, which Kelce took and tossed to the side.
Per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, players are supposed to stay within their own 45-yard lines during pregame warmups, so it was unclear why Tucker was in the area.
That was not the only spat between the two teams prior to kickoff.
Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet was caught chirping toward several Chiefs players, which led to Kansas City cornerback Jaylen Watson getting into Maulet’s face.
Maulet appeared to shove Watson’s helmet before officials and other players came rushing in to break things up.
If the game is nearly as entertaining as the pregame antics, this AFC Championship ought to be a memorable one.