Getty Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips on September 11, 2023.
With some more time to cool off, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is walking back his controversial claim on Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips.
Kelce took aim at Phillips for a late hit in the Week 12 meeting between the teams, when the Bills defensive lineman jumped offsides and knocked Eagles guard Cam Jurgens to the ground. Kelce said afterward that he believed the league should have fined Phillips, claiming he was trying to hurt Jurgens.
With the Eagles season now over and Kelce headed to retirement, his stance has softened a bit.
Jason Kelce: ‘I Was Over the Line’
Kelce originally called out Phillips during a November 29 appearance on the WIP Morning Show, saying he believed that Phillips took an unnecessary shot at his teammate in what turned out to be an overtime loss for the Bills. The play came as the Bills were preparing to defend the “Tush Push,” the effective short-yardage quarterback sneak where Jalen Hurts follows Kelce up the middle.
“I thought it was b******* at the time. I really did,” Kelce said. “I said so to the official on the field. I said, ‘I’ve been running that play a lot of years. I’ve seen people jump offsides. He made zero effort to stop after he jumped offsides.’ He purposely tried to hurt Cam Jurgens. I thought it should have been a personal foul and I think he should be fined for that play.”
But when a Bills fan brought up the play on social media on January 20 and shared a video that appeared to show Kelce committing a false start, Kelce spoke out and took back his claim.
“I was over the line saying Phillips should be fined and that he tried to injure my teammate,” Kelce wrote on X. “He was excessive, but It’s football, I was still pissed off when I made those comments in the moment on the radio. I harbor no ill will towards Phillips, I go over the top too sometimes.”
Kelce added that he could see the play being a false start, though still believed this should not have given Phillips free reign to knock over his teammate.
“At the end of the day though, I like when the game is played with physicality and toughness,” Kelce concluded.
Jordan Phillips Pushed Back
Phillips had responded to Kelce’s initial claim in November, pointing out that the Eagles center was known to dive at the knees of defensive linemen when plowing the way for Hurts on the “Tush Push.”
Jordan Phillips responded to Jason Kelce accusations Phillips was trying to injure on Tush Push offside.
Phillips thinks Kelce has no right to accuse others of playing dirty.
“He dives at knees every (Tush Push)…
You can dish it out, but can’t take it? That’s soft.”
#Bills
“You look at the Tush Push, he dives at somebody’s knees every play and tries to roll ’em up,” Phillips said, via WROC-TV on X. “So for him to speak on someone being dirty, I don’t think he has any right or means to call for a fine when he does a whole bunch of stuff. I just think that’s kinda crazy for him to even mention a fine.”
The loss to the Eagles ended up being a key turning point for the Bills. The overtime defeat dropped them to 6-6 and well outside the playoff picture, but the Bills rallied for five straight wins to close out the regular season, earning their fourth straight AFC East title with a season finale win over the Miami Dolphins.