Travis Kelce said the Kansas City Chiefs are in this together when it comes to the team’s offensive woes. It’s not just about the All-Pro tight end being in a slump. It’s not about receiver Kadarius Toney’s struggles. It’s not just on quarterback Patrick Mahomes or the team’s lack of a running game.
At every level, every member of the offense has played a part in the unit’s current failures, Kelce said on the latest episode of his “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason Kelce. “It’s not just one guy,” Travis Kelce said. “It’s not just me playing like dog s***. It’s not just us not being able to get the run game going. It’s not just us not being on the same page, passing-wise. Everybody’s in this f***ing thing together. Everybody at some point isn’t being accountable.
“Every single play is somebody not doing their job, and it’s me … it’s everybody on the team. And whether that’s prep, whether that’s having the confidence and understanding of what the defense is in their coverages, their gaps in the run game, how we’re picking up blitzes, how we’re running routes versus certain coverages. All the above.” Even though Kansas City could win the AFC West title with a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, one wouldn’t know it given the fact that the team has lost three of its last four contests.
The Chiefs simply have not looked like the same team that has played in the last five AFC championship games and three of the last four Super Bowls. The offense has received the brunt of the criticism, because it leads the NFL in dropped passes (34) and is tied for the league-lead in offensive penalties (56). And the Chiefs’ 26 turnovers rank sixth most. Two of those turnovers — a fumble and interception by Mahomes — were returned for the Raiders’ only touchdowns. Kanas City reached a dubious new low by the end of the first quarter, recording the lowest total yards in the first quarter (minus-18) in 12 years.
In the midst of the team’s 20-14 loss Monday, Travis Kelce was seen throwing his helmet on the sideline. He finished the game with five catches for 44 yards. It was fifth-consecutive games without a touchdown, too. “Throughout the season, we’ve shown during drives that we can be a high-powered offense, if we don’t hurt ourselves with penalties, if we’re not playing first-and-f***ing-20,” Kelce said. “Every other drive or every other set of first downs just hasn’t been a well-oiled machine like we’ve been in the past, and we just got to get everybody on the same f***ing page.
“Maybe that’s just getting into the facility and just talking things out together. Maybe that’s getting a few reps after practice. Maybe that’s getting a few more reps, mental reps with each other in the film room. Whatever it is, we got to do something else because it’s been pretty consistent that we haven’t been on the same page. We just got to take a little bit more ownership in what we’re doing. And I’m not saying that I’m out of this. I’m the main part of this, and you got to try and find a way to clean this s*** up.”
So Jason asked his younger brother how the Chiefs plan to do that. How is Kansas City going to clean up these mistakes and correct ship in the final two games of the season? “Everybody’s just got to f***ing do their job,” Travis Kelce answered.
