Travis Kelce Addresses Helmet Throw, ‘Embarrassing’ KC Chiefs Game vs. Raiders
The Kansas City Chiefs' offense has largely underwhelmed this season, with mental errors being the main culprit through 16 weeks. Christmas Day was no different, as Andy Reid and Matt Nagy's group gifted the Las Vegas Raiders a pair of defensive touchdowns en route to a 20-14 outcome in favor of the visitors.
Taking to the New Heights podcast with his brother Jason this week, tight end Travis Kelce didn't mince words when describing Monday's game.
"All I've got for you is that... that was embarrassing," Kelce said. "Everybody in the building knows how embarrassing that was. We've got a short week, so we're gonna forget about this s— real quick."
Despite outgaining the Raiders by almost 100 net yards, the Chiefs couldn't get out of their own way and win in Week 16. That's been a very common theme this year, with turnovers, penalties and other miscues popping up all year long. Kansas City outscored Las Vegas 7-3 in the second half of play but unfortunately for them, the damage was already done and the comeback effort fell short.
The difference in the game ended up being those two aforementioned touchdowns. Both happened in the second quarter, and both were ugly. On the first play, running back Isiah Pacheco and quarterback Patrick Mahomes failed to convert an exchange properly and a fumble was picked up by Bilal Nichols and returned for a score. The second play was an interception thrown to cornerback Jack Jones — one in which he seemed to be talking trash to Mahomes on his way into the end zone. The plays happened within seconds of each other, swinging all the momentum in the Raiders' favor. Kelce expanded on the turnovers, citing them as frustrating for everyone.
"There's one thing more deflating than a defensive touchdown, and that's back-to-back defensive touchdowns," Kelce said. "And that will make you pretty f— frustrated. And that makes you frustrated as an offensive player. As a defensive player, you pride yourself on keeping points off the board, and we gifted them 14."
Kelce himself had one very notable moment in the game that stood out, but for all the wrong reasons. Following a failed third-down conversion in the first half, the All-Pro was spotted throwing his helmet on the sideline. Reid didn't allow it to be returned for a brief time period, later describing the incident as an "emotional" moment that "all works out" after the game. Kelce tipped his cap to Reid for keeping his best interests at heart, although he admits he has to be a better leader for the Chiefs to get where they want to go.
"He's looking out for me," Kelce said. "I love him for it. I didn't go back out there and play good. He wanted to see the fire in me, and I reacted in a bad way. He wanted to just get the best out of me and right now, I'm just not playing my best football. I've got to f— lock the f— in and be more accountable for him, be more accountable for my teammates. I've got to keep my f— cool, man, because as a leader on this team, that's not how you switch the momentum."
It's undoubtedly been a trying season for just about everyone on the Kansas City offensive depth chart. Mahomes and Kelce, specifically, aren't performing to their usual standards and are parts of a team doing the same. Coming off a Super Bowl-winning season, this isn't what many expected entering the year. With just two regular-season games left to fix things, the pressure is mounting and frustration is showing. Kelce's message is that everyone is focused on finding a solution, which is a continuation of what's been the case for multiple months running.
