‘It’s a hard reality': Travis Kelce criticizes his effort, leadership in Chiefs' Super Bowl loss
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - In the days following Super Bowl LIX, the loss continues to sting for one of the Chiefs' star players.
In his recent New Heights podcast, tight end Travis Kelce relayed to his brother Jason how he has beaten himself up for how he played in Sunday’s 40-22 defeat to the Phildelphia Eagles.
“It just wasn’t our day. Couldn’t find a lick of momentum. I’m kicking myself for some of the tiny, tiny decisions I made on the field. I wasn’t the best leader I could be in motivating my guys,” Kelce said. ”I wish things would’ve went different. I wish I would have made better decisions early on and helped my guy Pat out and helped my team find that momentum and confidence."
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Kelce also addressed the speculation of whether he would hang up the cleats on his 12-year career.
“I know everybody wants to know whether I am playing next year and right now I am just kicking everything down the road. I’m kicking every can I can down the road,” he said. “I’m gonna take some time to figure it out. And I think I owe it to my teammates if I do come back, it’s going to be something, it’s a wholehearted decision, I’m not half-assing it, I’m fully here for them. I think I can play, it’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility.”
During Media Night of Super Bowl week, Kelce had said he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
But in his podcast, Kelce opened up on the toll his body has taken with playing in the postseason the last several years on top of a long season.
“I am not making any crazy decisions, but right now the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches, understanding, you know, that there’s a lot that goes into this thing. I’ve been fortunate over the past five, six years, I’ve played more football than anybody,” he told Jason. “And it’s because the people that are in that building and the fact we keep going to these AFC Championships and these Super Bowls and it means I’m playing an extra three games more than anyone else in the entire league. It’s a lot of wear and tear on your body. It’s a lot of time spent in the building, focusing on your craft, the task at hand, every challenge you set up for yourself. And that process can be grueling, it can weigh on you. It can make you better and it can drive you crazy at the same time.”
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