Travis Kelce's continued decline with the Chiefs
Travis Kelce's continued decline with the Chiefs
By Jay Postrado September 19, 2024 07:11
There was just something off about Travis Kelce during the Kansas City Chiefs' first two games. While he was blocking effectively, Patrick Mahomes was not throwing to him as much nor was he getting enough separation to be open for a pass. What has happened to El Travador? Will he be able to reclaim his lost glory? Let's find out in this breakdown.
Travis Kelce's numbers throughout Weeks 1 and 2
In their first game against the Baltimore Ravens, Kelce was only spotted thrice by Mahomes and they connected on those passes. The three receptions from the elite quarterback gave the Chiefs just 34 total yards. It was fairly underwhelming for someone who is contending for the title of 'Best Tight End of All Time'.
Things only got worse for the big man in their narrow win against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was very unproductive. In fact, he only grabbed one reception throughout the whole game. Even then, his total gain was only five yards which barely helped the Chiefs.
This is the lowest performing game ever of his career since Mahomes became his signal-caller.
What happened to the 12th year tight end?
A lot of it could just be the age catching up to him. However, Mahomes posits that it could be because the Bengals and Ravens are just tough squads to face. Their secondaries and defensive lines have been phenomenal.
"They're doing a great job of just kind of having two people for him pretty much the entire game. We'll get it going. As the season goes on, I'm sure we'll get more of those plays," he said.
Being a highly-touted Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection often comes with these types of schemes being employed to a player. Kelce has never seen this low of an output before but he surely knows how to bounce back. One can expect Andy Reid to figure out how to get Travis open for passes once again.