Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce adamantly denies any suggestion that the Chiefs’ receiving corps is the reason for the team’s recent struggles.
‘We’re not rolling like we have been in the past,’ Kelce conceded on this week’s episode of his and brother Jason’s ‘New Heights’ podcast. ‘There’s a lot of media pointing fingers at some of the skill players we have. I say (expletive) that.’
On Sunday, wideout Kadarius Toney was flagged for being offside, nullifying an apparent go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of what ended up being a 20-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills — the Chiefs’ fourth defeat in their last six games.
‘I’ve got all the faith in the world in that dude. He’s one of our best players,’ the Chiefs star said of Toney.
‘Everybody hating on KT right now, I’m not trying to hear that. You can (expletive) miss me with it. I’m trusting in 19 every time he’s out there on the field.’
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The Chiefs touchdown that wasn’t
Kelce was in the middle of the big play that nearly won it for Kansas City, with a surprise lateral to Toney that he said he made up ‘on the spot.’
The play came with 1:12 to play with the Chiefs just entering Buffalo territory. On second and 10, quarterback Patrick Mahomes hit Kelce over the middle of the field at the Bills’ 24. As defenders closed in on him, Kelce improvised with a cross-field lateral to Toney.
‘I saw him out of the corner of my eye in a lateral position, in a position where I knew that if I could get him the ball I knew he had space to score a touchdown,’ he said.
The offside penalty erased the TD and set off a firestorm of controversy after the game. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid were especially critical of the call, which Reid said came without the typical warning from the line judge.
‘Everybody’s just sticking up for each other. That’s all I give a damn about,’ Kelce said. ‘If they get fined for what they said, okay. But at least the guys in this locker room know we got their back.’
The loss dropped the Chiefs to 8-5, but they still lead the AFC West division by a game over the Denver Broncos.
‘When you watch the film, penalties in critical moments, turnovers in critical moments. And it’s everybody. It’s not one guy, everybody’s getting a piece of the pie,’ Kelce added.
‘Yeah, it’s frustrating, but at the same time we know a lot of it is self-inflicted. And we know that moving forward, it can be fixed.’