Travis Kelce has admitted to a ‘brutal’ change in mindset after a slow start to the new NFL season for him and Kansas City Chiefs – but the tight end is remaining calm
Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs’ star tight end, has opened up about maintaining a cool composure despite a sluggish start to the new NFL season, revealing he “stopped caring about stats” a long time ago.
The legendary player has been pivotal in his team’s recent successes, with the Chiefs clinching three Super Bowl titles in the past five years. Now, at 34, Kelce, alongside quarterback Patrick Mahomes, is aiming to lead his team towards an extraordinary “three-peat” this season.
Yet, Kelce’s performance in the first two games against the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals has been somewhat subdued. The Arrowhead favourite managed just four receptions for 39 yards in total, failing to leave his usual mark on the game.
Despite the slow personal start, the Chiefs have kicked off their season with consecutive wins, defeating the Ravens 27-20 and edging out the Bengals 26-25. Kelce has now candidly assessed his early-season form during a conversation with his brother, Jason Kelce.
The NFL star is keeping it cool despite not hitting the endzone yet this season, choosing to remain zen during these early stages. “There’s a lot of things that have to go right for anyone to get the ball. These past two games it hasn’t gone that way for me. That’s football, man,” he said on New Heights podcast.
He continued, reflecting on how his approach to the game has evolved: “I’m not going to sit here and get frustrated. I used to get really, really […] 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.”
Further expressing his current attitude towards the game, he added: “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 for my guys, and sure enough I think that’s a better mentality.”
Wrapping up, Kelce addressed his team’s recent form: “We’ve got to play better as an offense. The defense is playing their […] off. . . . I put that on me. I think it starts with the leaders, I think it starts with making sure you go in with the right mentality. I didn’t play my best. It spreads if you don’t fix it and I’ve got to get that thing fixed.”
Mahomes has lauded his teammate’s performance this season, acknowledging the tough opposition theyve faced in the Ravens and Bengals, but confident in the impact yet to come. He said: “Obviously we’ve played two opponents [Ravens, Bengals] we’ve played a lot, so they have a plan on how they’re going to account for Travis.”
“But as the season goes on, I mean, he’s going to get his catches, he’s going to get his yards, but the leader he is, what’s special is he’s hyping everybody up, he’s keeping everybody motivated, and that’s what you need out of your great players.”
