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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is used to taking hits over the middle of the field from linebackers and safeties, but what he’s presumably not used to is getting straight-up slapped in the face by defensive linemen.
That exact scenario played out, though, midway through the third quarter of Friday’s Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers in San Paulo, Brazil, as Kelce was blocking Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart on a third-and-1 that resulted in a Patrick Mahomes 11-yard gain.
Kelce and Tart were locked up all the way to the whistle, and as the Chiefs Pro Bowler gave him a subtle shove as the play ended, Tart retaliated by forcefully slapping Kelce right across the facemask.
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Tart was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, but he was not ejected to she shock of many fans on social media.
While there was some confusion as to why Tart was allowed to remain in the game, former official and current NBC Sports and Amazon Prime NFL rules expert Terry McAulay explained exactly why there was no ejection.
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Terry McAulay explains why Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart wasn’t ejected for this swing at Travis Kelce.
“According to Walt Anderson, they said because it was an open hand contact to the head, that was not disqualifying action.” pic.twitter.com/Ke2KsUxg54
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2025
“The decision comes from either executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent or the senior vice president of officiating, and they looked at it, and according to Walt Anderson, they said because it was an open-hand contact to the head, that was not disqualifying action,” McAulay said, via Awful Announcing.
“[The amount of force and whether it’s open or closed-handed] can come into play, but 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 int his case.”
According to NFL rules, the league office has the power to tell game officials whether or not to disqualify a player if they decide a foul “for a football or non-football act called on the field is flagrant.”
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