Travis Kelce was not in the mood to talk about the Kansas City Chiefs’ latest defeat, despite setting some franchise history along the way.
The Chiefs lost to the Denver Broncos 22-19 on Sunday, November 16, a game in which Kelce, 36, set the all-time Kansas City franchise record for touchdown receptions.
In the locker room after the loss, Kelce “respectfully declined to talk,” according to The Athletic’s James Palmer.
“If you’re going to ask me about the record, I could care less about that right now,” Kelce said.
The game at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High Stadium was seemingly not attended by Kelce’s fiancée, Taylor Swift.
Kansas City dropped to 5-5 on the season, three games behind division-leading Denver in the loss column. The Chiefs are currently on the outside of the AFC playoff picture.
The organization has not missed the playoffs since 2014, Kelce’s first full season in the NFL.
Following Sunday’s loss to the Broncos, ESPN’s Power Football Index gives the Chiefs a 44.6 percent chance to miss the playoffs this season.
While Kelce skipped talking to the media, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes faced the music and put much of the blame on his shoulders.
“I think we’re really talented and we’ve got a lot of great players, but it’s about being more consistent. I think it starts with me,” Mahomes, 30, told reporters on Sunday. “There’s times where I’m firing and we’re moving the ball down the field at ease. But there’s times where we go in spurts where I miss a throw or a [pass] protection call.”
He added, “We haven’t been consistent enough to win games. It starts with me.”
Mahomes finished the game 29-for-45 passing, with one touchdown and one interception. A 21-yard touchdown pass to Kelce in the fourth quarter was the 84th of his career, breaking a tie with Chiefs legend Priest Holmes for most in team history.
It was an admittedly off performance from Mahomes all game long, which saw him overthrow Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy on a deep ball on the team’s opening drive.
“I’ve just got to make the throw,” Mahomes said. “There’s no other way around it. The play was designed for Travis — and I think Travis is wide open — but you have these alerts in your plays and how [Broncos safety Brandon Jones] was sitting with Xavier’s speed, I knew he was going to have a chance down the field. I’ve just got to give him a chance. I miss that one.”
Given the Broncos’ lead in the AFC West, Mahomes acknowledged, “It’s going to be tough to get back in the division race.”
“The goal is to get into the playoffs and try to make a run at it,” he continued. “We’ve got to learn from this one as much as possible, knowing we’re going to get a great opponent coming into Arrowhead [Stadium] next week.”
The Chiefs host the AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts (8-2) on Sunday, November 23.
Mahomes added, “We’re kind of at that point where we’ve got to find a way to win games.”
