Travis Kelce Makes Blunt Admission on His Chemistry Issues With Patrick Mahomes

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Travis Kelce hasn’t been shy about airing his frustrations amid his down year with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The star tight end got his 2024 season off to a slow start, attracting plenty of criticism from the NFL media, and he still hasn’t quite found his elite form. His ongoing offensive woes could be partially due to his surprising chemistry disconnect with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, as Kelce discussed Wednesday.

The Mahomes-Kelce link that has been so consistent for the Chiefs over the last several years appears to be fading this season, and Kelce doesn’t really know why.

“Once we get in that red zone, man, I get a little hungrier and right now, for whatever reason this year, I just can’t find my way in the end zone,” Kelce said on New Heights (at the 15:45 mark in the video). “I’m just not on the same page as Pat and it can get frustrating. It can get f---ing frustrating, that’s for d--- sure.”

The Chiefs, who currently rank 24th in red zone efficiency, saw their offensive drives stalled time after time in last week’s sluggish win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Kelce brought in seven catches on 13 targets for 68 yards in the victory but couldn’t find pay dirt and only has a pair of touchdowns through 12 games this year. 

“As s---y as I’ve played, it does feel good to be in my 10th year in a row making the playoffs,” continued Kelce. “We gotta win the division, that’s another goal that we gotta reach… We just gotta finish strong, baby. Just finish strong and get violently accurate with our intentions.”

Kelce will look to get back on the scoreboard in Sunday’s divisional matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium.


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.