Travis Kelce was second in receiving yards among Chiefs tight ends Sunday in KC’s 26-25 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Rookie Jared Wiley had one catch for 7 yards, while Kelce had 5 receiving yards on just one catch. That snapped a streak of 114 games in which Kelce had three receptions or more.
That’s an NFL record and, as noted on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, is far ahead of second-place Antonio Brown (81).
Kelce, who holds multiple NFL records, said on the podcast that he has gone back and looked at video of the game. Kelce diagnosed ways he can improve. “I could have played better, man. It is what it is,” he said. “Could have played better. Could have ran better routes Could have got out of my breaks a little bit faster, knowing (Bengals defensive end) Trey Hendrickson was on one.
“And it’s just you see things, Monday morning quarterback, you see things better after the game, and realize how you can play better and be better for your teammates. And sure enough, I’ve always had that accountability. I’ve always been my worst critic, and I’m going to remain my worst critic. I think that I can improve a lot for my guys and be there for Pat (Mahomes) in a lot of different situations.
“I’m just fortunate that coach (Andy) Reid and this offensive staff has given me that opportunity, and has the confidence that I’ll be able to get it done.”
NOT WORRIED ABOUT STATS
Kelce has four receptions for 39 yards in the Chiefs’ first two games, one season after he caught 93 passes for 984 yards. That snapped a streak of seven straight seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards (another NFL record), although he missed two games. There is much that goes into catching a pass, Kelce said.
That includes calling the right play against the right coverage and having adequate pass protection — and his route-running has to be perfect. “For whatever reason these past two games, it hasn’t gone that way for me, and that’s football, man,” Kelce said.
“I’m not about to sit here and get frustrated about it. I used to get really, really pissed off and almost lose my cool a lot of the time from not having that success, knowing I demand that out of myself, and I just like to play the game to such a high level of accountability that it’s tough for me to deal with being mediocre or having stats that represent that.
“So I stopped caring about stats about four or five years ago, and I just went out there and started to just play free and wanted to play free, and wanted to play for my guys. And sure enough, I think that’s a better mentality. You think about it more, play by play, and what your job is on that specific play. And I think moving forward it’s just how can I be better in those moments?
What’s the issue? Am I not getting out of my route fast enough? Whatever the situation may be, it’s all play-specific anyways. “But you’re always looking at the film, looking at the scheme, and trying to perfect it more and more each week. And typically, you see these kind of games earlier on, and then you just, you keep trying to get better and better and more accountable for the guys around you.”
OFFENSE NEEDS TO IMPROVE
The Chiefs are averaging 26.5 points per game, which ranks sixth in the NFL. That’s nearly five points more than last season. But Kelce said he expects more from the unit. “We’ve got to play better as an offense,” Kelce said. “I think the defense is playing their asses off, getting turnovers, finding a way to make opposing quarterbacks (uncomfortable).
And they’re really making it hard for them to throw the ball downfield with the type of pressures that we’re getting and how good our coverage is right now. And I just think we have to, we have to match that accountability on the offensive side to really become another Super Bowl-caliber team. “I put that on me. I think it starts with the leaders. I think it starts with making sure you’re going with the right mentality. I didn’t play my best. It spreads if you don’t fix it. So I’ve got to get that thing fixed.”
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