Travis Kelce can be a little hard on himself at times. Case in point Thursday at the Super Bowl when Kansas City’s star tight end reflected on the Chiefs’ loss to the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl two years ago.
“I don’t like to revisit that one,” said Kelce, who caught 10 passes for 133 yards that night against Tampa Bay. “That wasn’t a prideful moment in my life. But it’s good wisdom to have. And as a leader, I don’t think I stepped up to the plate as much as I should have in that game and that’s where it really burns me.
“So I’m just focusing on myself to be the best leader I can and the best teammate I can be — come gameday — and not put my team in a position like I did the last time we were in the Super Bowl.”
Kelce, who had 15 targets that game, said there were a few plays early that he didn’t come through on and that set the team back. But now Kelce and the Chiefs will get another shot at redemption when they play the Eagles at 5:30 p.m. Sunday in Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, Ariz.
A victory would mark the team’s second Super Bowl title in the last four years, and Kelce said that might be the most special of all considering how much turnover there was at the wide receiver position going into the season.
Mecole Hardman was the only retuning wideout for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but yet Mahomes had arguably his best season and won NFL MVP. Mahomes got a jump on things early this season, getting the skill players, including Kelce and free agents JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, together for a minicamp in Texas before the Chiefs started OTAs.
“It was Pat’s idea to get everybody going before we got into OTAs,” Kelce said. “And I think all that did was get the ball rolling and get everybody in the same mind frame. They kind of saw the practice habits we had there and then that was just the easy way to transition into OTAs when we got the coaches involved and the entire team.
“But as much as we like to say it’s about a culture here, I can’t say enough about the guys that came in and that took this to heart. It’s cool looking back on it now because you see the focus and the determination. You see the want to get to the position that we’re in and it’s gratifying for sure.”
Mahomes, who led the league in yards passing (5,250) and touchdowns (41), said watching Kelce work to be the greatest tight end of all-time has inspired not only him but fellow teammates.
“He’s the hardest working guy in the locker room,” Mahomes said of Kelce. “He’s in the building working his tail off, he’s finishing on every route, he’s blocking and working on his blocking. There’s times when he’s not in he’s walking to the side and working on routes by himself. And people respond because everybody knows he’s doing it the right way.”
Andy Reid has been Kelce’s coach from the second the Chiefs drafted him 10 years ago. And he said all of Kelce’s success has been earned as he’s taken nothing for granted.
“Travis has a good feel for the game and in particular for space,” Reid said. “Teams have doubled him and banged him around in man coverage, put DBs on him and corners and safeties, linebackers. They’ve tried a lot of different things and through his career he’s seen about everything you can put on him.
“Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. But he has a great relationship with our quarterback. Those two are on the same page and they see defenses the same way. They’re best friends on the field and off the field and that helps, too. If you’re a receiver you want to be friendly with the quarterback, for sure. And Travis studies. He comes off as a happy-go-lucky guy, but he studies like crazy. And he knows defenses and he can see and react to them quickly during the game.”
The Chiefs will certainly need Kelce to be at the top of his game Sunday, and he says he has just the coach to help make that happen.
“Andy Reid, baby,” Kelce said. “Big Red can dial some stuff up at the right time and create some things at the right time, and on top of that everybody’s doing their job. It’s not just me going out there and getting open. There’s a lot of method to it and a lot of guys doing their job for the big picture, and I’m fortunate that I’m playing here.”
