Travis Kelce on Role in Chiefs' Offense, Process of 'Fun' but Challenging Season

Despite not being at peak form for most of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs are finding ways to win. Parallels can be drawn to tight end Travis Kelce's year.

Dec 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) leaves the field after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

With Week 18's contest against the Denver Broncos still on the schedule, the Kansas City Chiefs don't have a ton to play for. At 15-1, the reigning Super Bowl champions already have the one-seed in the AFC locked up and have secured both a first-round playoff bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Considering how many injuries the team dealt with and how inconsistent its level of play has been at times, this seems like a rather improbable path. Toss in a stretch of three games in 11 days, and it becomes even more difficult to envision Andy Reid's team setting a franchise record for victories in a single season.

Thanks to a combination of leadership, preparation and championship DNA (OK, and maybe a bit of good fortune), Kansas City is right there anyway. Following a Christmas Day win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, tight end Travis Kelce spoke about the organization having no choice but to attack what was ahead of them and improve along the way.

"You know, it's fun building the chemistry of a team," Kelce said. "I could look back on a lot of the teams we had success on, and those were the most fun teams to be on. You could feel it in the building. Right now, it's such a blast coming in and going to work with the guys we have. It's more unique and more different than any year I've ever been a part of because of the way we've won and how we've had to keep focusing on getting better, knowing we were coming away with wins. The chemistry is at an all-time high right now, and I'm excited that we found a way to get the No. 1 seed and we're going into the playoffs playing our best football."

It's been a trying season for Kelce, which comes a year after quite easily the most trying one of his career. After seeing his 1,000-yard season streak get snapped in 2023-24, Kelce will likely finish this year with worse production across the board. A slow start to the season and several quiet games over the next couple of months didn't help. Kelce's Week 17 performance – eight receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown – was his best since early November.

Despite the drop in statistical output, Kelce still found a way to set the franchise record for career receiving touchdowns. Even with his body slowing down and others in the offense finding their footing, he remains the team's leading target by quite a margin. Rookie wideout Xavier Worthy trails Kelce by 35 targets, 38 receptions and 185 yards.

With the postseason on the horizon, that's where Kelce is always at his best. As the Chiefs pursue an elusive three-peat of Super Bowl titles, he's happy to do whatever it takes to keep stacking up wins.

"I mean, I'm happy with my role right now," Kelce said. "I'm out here helping this team win football games. We've got a lot of good tight ends, we've got a lot of wide receivers that are getting open that are doing great things with the football. Pat's (Mahomes) playing at his best going into the playoffs. It's a little bit different than others, but it's still a blast coming in every single day."

Read More: Patrick Mahomes Deferring to Andy Reid on Status for Week 18 vs. Broncos