After a disappointing 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on September 5, Travis Kelce is candid about the Kansas City Chiefs' struggles. “I know it’s kinda sounding like a broken record from last year’s Super Bowl, but that’s on us as leaders,” he stated during the September 10 episode of his “New Heights” podcast. The tight end, who took personal responsibility for the team's performance, admitted, “I’ll take the most accountability myself. I wasn’t ready that first drive.”
Kelce's recent performance comes on the heels of what many consider one of the least productive seasons of his career, which ended with a Super Bowl defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in February. In the game against the Chargers, he managed two receptions and a touchdown, but the overall outcome left much to be desired.
The Chiefs faced an uphill battle from the start, particularly as they played in South America for only the second time in NFL history. Early in the game, Kelce collided with teammate Xavier Worthy, who subsequently exited with a dislocated right shoulder. “I literally took one of my players out,” Kelce expressed, highlighting the emotional toll of the incident. “That’s one of the most frustrating parts and it’s hard to get your juices back going knowing you just hurt a guy.”
Reflecting on the collision, he added, “I was trying to kind of set up my guy to be able to get in position and it all just happened pretty quick. I just gotta be better, man. Thirteen years in the league, there’s no excuse for me running into my own guys like that.”
Looking ahead, the Chiefs are set to face the Eagles again on September 14 in a highly anticipated Super Bowl rematch. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid provided an update on Worthy’s condition, stating that his status remains uncertain. “I know Xavier’s the big question, and he’s rehabbing and working his shoulder,” Reid noted. “We’ll just see where it goes day by day here – see where we end up.”
Despite the setback, Kelce expressed gratitude for the experience in São Paulo. Although his fiancée, Taylor Swift, was not present for the game, he felt supported by his “football family.” “I want to just give a huge shoutout to Brazil. The fans down there, everyone that made that thing run, it was just such a unique and cool atmosphere,” he remarked. “It was a bit of a different experience in terms of getting ready for the game and traveling all the way down there, just the prep and everything we had to go through. But at the end of the day, football is football and the game and atmosphere was absolutely electric.”
