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Patrick Mahomes Had Simple Reason For Travis Kelce’s Struggles After Win Over Falcons

Andy Nesbitt

Kelce had just four catches for 30 yards in the Chiefs' win over the Falcons.
Kelce had just four catches for 30 yards in the Chiefs' win over the Falcons. / Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
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Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are 3–0 after Sunday night's 22–17 win over the Atlanta Falcons, but the star tight end's struggles continued as he caught only four passes for 30 yards and failed to find the end zone for a third straight game.

The 34-year-old caught only one pass for five yards in the Chiefs' thrilling Week 2 win over the Bengals. He has just 69 total receiving yards on the season and has yet to become the weapon we're used to seeing in the K.C. offense.

Patrick Mahomes was asked after the game about Kelce's struggles and the quarterback shed some light on how defenses are really limiting his tight end:

"It’s crazy because the respect factor teams have for Travis is unreal, and it’s well-deserved," Mahomes said. "We’re calling a lot of plays for Travis and it’s like two or three [defenders] are going to him. That’s the great thing about him is he wants to make an impact on the game but he wants to win at the end of the day. I’m going to do my best to keep feeding him the ball whenever he’s there, whenever he’s open. I think the more Rashee [Rice] makes plays, the more we’re able to run the football, the more we can get [Xavier] Worthy involved, I think that’s going to open Travis up more. People are really emphasizing taking him away and that’s getting other guys open."

Kelce will look to finally get back on track in Week 4 when the Chiefs travel to Los Angeles to face the Chargers, a team the tight end has had a ton of success against in his career.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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