Yahoo Sports Travis Kelce Finally Enjoys Successful — and Record-Breaking! — Game After Weeks of Criticism Over His Play
The Kansas City Chiefs star caught seven passes for 89 yards in the team’s win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, and became the franchise's all-time leading in receptions
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Travis Kelce is letting his game speak for itself.
Days after facing mounting criticism regarding his slow start this NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs star responded with a breakout performance, catching seven passes for 89 yards in the team’s win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Sept. 29.
Kelce also made franchise history, becoming the Chiefs’ all-time leader in receptions (917) — and surpassing Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez — after his second catch of the day early in the game.
Through the previous three games of the season, the tight end’s total haul had been eight receptions for 69 yards, leading critics and even fans to question his play thus far.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid had one answer as to why Kelce proved a more frequent target of quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
"They played quite a little bit of zone and Kelce did a nice job of getting in windows," Reid told reporters after the game. "And when they did play, man, he was able to do a nice job there. There wasn’t as much double teams as he’s seen so he did very good."
Kelce also addressed the issue during media availability on Friday, Sept. 27.
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"Every single year is different, you know? I think with the pieces that we have, teams are playing us a little bit different than they were last year and they’re playing Patrick [Mahomes] different than they were last year,” he said. “I think you’re seeing teams early on play a little bit softer, making us drive an entire way down the field instead of — and just taking away those big shots, and I think Pat’s just doing a great job of getting the ball in everyone’s hands.”
Prior to the game, the tight end got a confidence boost from his own teammates when wide receivers Rashee Rice, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman Jr. wore custom Kelce t-shirts with the player’s name and image on the front and the word “Dreamathon” on the back.
Earlier this month on his New Heights podcast, Travis gave a glimpse into his mindset about the issue.
The Chiefs star explained how "a lot of things" have to “go right” to get the ball in an NFL game, and it just hadn't happened yet between him and Mahomes.
"It's just for whatever reason, these past two games, it hasn't gone that way for me, and that's football, man. I'm not about to sit here and get frustrated about it," Kelce said.
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