Travis Kelce needed some time to reflect after watching the Chiefs dynasty potentially crumble before his eyes.
The Kansas City tight end initially skirted the media following the team’s devastating Week 15 loss to the Chargers — which not only knocked them out of playoff contention for the first time since 2014 but also saw star quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffer a season-ending ACL tear.
After taking a few days to process, Kelce reacted to the loss during a Wednesday installment of his “New Heights” podcast and emphasized how “sad” and surreal it was to see the franchise leader go down in what could have been the last stand, both for the team and the star duo who could have played in their final game together with retirement rumors engulfing the 36-year-old tight end.
“We lost our quarterback, man, Patty Mahomes, our guy, our brother, our fearless leader, our face of the franchise to an ACL,” Kelce told his brother, co-host, and former Eagles star Jason Kelce.
“It’s never easy seeing your guys go down,” he added. “We fought, man, we had some guys fight through stuff, we had some guys who, unfortunately, did not make it back onto the field.”
The Chiefs, who were on the brink of elimination after dropping two straight game, flashed signs of life in the fourth quarter when they blazed beyond midfield, down three with just under two minutes to go.
Then, Mahomes tweaked his knee on an awkward tackle.
Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew pushed the Chiefs deeper into enemy territory but threw an interception with 20 seconds left, squashing Kansas City’s playoff hopes.
“For the season to be going like it did, up to that point, and we’re on our last quest to try and keep our playoff hopes alive there in the fourth quarter, on a freakish play to see 1-5 go down like that, man, f–king, it was almost like it wasn’t real,” said Kelce.
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“S–t just sucks, man,” he added. “For a guy who puts in that much, puts his body on the line week in and week out … this football world, he makes the best of it, man, by how hard he works, and it just sucks, man.”
Mahomes’ exit exacerbated an already brutal loss that seemingly capped a dynastic run from the Chiefs, who won four Super Bowls in five trips across 10 consecutive postseason appearances.
Kansas City failed to respond from its humiliating Super Bowl loss to the Eagles in New Orleans, posting a disastrous 6–8 record through Week 15.
Still, Kelce, who has struggled mightily through what could be the last year of his illustrious career and may have played his last game with the MVP signal caller, isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet — promising Chiefs fans that the team will continue fighting until the final whistle.
“Chiefs Kingdom, we’re going to give it everything we’ve got,” Kelce declared. “There’s no question about that. There’s only one way I do things, there’s only one way coach [Andy] Reid does things, and if we’re going to go out there and play some football, we’re going to do it the right way and keep trying to get these things fixed and end on the highest note that we can.
“If there’s a game to be had, baby, I’m going to go out there and I’m going to love f–king playing in it,” he added. “No matter if it’s a game that gets us into the playoffs, or a game that seems like it doesn’t have any implications. That’s the integrity you got to go out there with.”
The Chiefs meet the Titans in Tennessee on Dec. 21.
