Travis Kelce was barely a factor in the Chiefs’ third straight win to start the 2024 NFL season.
The All-Pro tight end appeared somber when NBC cameras captured him on the bench while the Falcons held a 14-10 lead over Kansas City before halftime.
Kelce, who was limited in the passing game in Kansas City’s first two wins, finished with four catches on five targets for 30 yards in the Chiefs’ 22-17 victory over the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday night.
Travis Kelce was barely a factor in the Chiefs’ third straight win to start the 2024 NFL season.
The three-time Super Bowl champ, who is known for his bubbly personality, was seen rubbing his eye and looking down before he stared into the distance.
He now has eight catches for 69 yards and zero touchdowns.
Kelce, in his 12th NFL season, was out-shined again by second-year wideout Rashee Rice, who caught one of Patrick Mahomes’ two touchdown passes.
Travis Kelce was barely a factor in the Chiefs’ third straight win to start the 2024 NFL season.
Mahomes heavily targeted Rice in Week 2, when the Chiefs pulled off a last-minute, 26-25 win over the Bengals on Sept. 15.
Kelce, 34, had just one catch for five yards against the Bengals — with a 41-yard reception in the fourth quarter that was called back on Kingsley Suamataia’s holding penalty.
He had three catches for 34 yards in the Chiefs’ home opener against the Ravens.
Following Sunday’s performance, which came without girlfriend Taylor Swift in the stands after she attended the the first two games of the season, he’s now on pace for just 391 receiving yards this season.
Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III (3) breaks up a pass intended for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 22, 2024.USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Kelce addressed his slow start on his “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason Kelce following Week 2.
“I used to get really, really pissed off and almost lose my cool a lot of the time from not having that success knowing that I demand that out of myself and I just like to play the game to such a high level of accountability that it’s just tough for me to deal with being mediocre or having stats that represent that,” Kelce said last Wednesday.
The Chiefs (3-0) face the Chargers (2-1) in Los Angeles on Sept. 29.
