Travic Kelce let it all out on an episode of his “New Heights” podcast with brother and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason. After the Chiefs lost three of their last four games, Travis called it “a frustrating f**king experience” and said that everyone – including himself – is contributing to the offense’s struggles.
“It’s not just one guy,” Kelce said. “It’s not just me playing like dogs**t. It’s not just us not being able to get the run game going. It’s not just us not being on the same page, passing-wise. Everybody’s in this f**king thing together. Everybody at some point isn’t being accountable.
“Every single play is somebody not doing their job, and it’s me … it’s everybody on the team. And whether that’s prep, whether that’s having the confidence and understanding of what the defense is in their coverages, their gaps in the run game, how we’re picking up blitzes, how we’re running routes versus certain coverages. All the above.”
Kelce is right, there are mistakes across the entire Kansas City Chiefs offense. The Chiefs lead the league with 34 dropped passes, are tied for a league-high 56 offensive penalties, and are sixth in offensive turnovers.
Chiefs receivers are having some of the worst seasons of the Mahomes era. Among 26 Chiefs receivers with at least 30 targets since 2018, Kadarius Toney (4.4) and Skyy Moore (6.4) have the lowest and second-lowest yards per target in a single season. Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s 2023 season (8.5) ranks 10th worst, according to Stathead, while rookie Rashee Rice (8.4) ranks 13th worst.
Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor leads all individual players with 17 penalties against, six more than the second-most penalized player. The former Jaguars tackle signed a four-year $60 million deal with Kansas City this past offseason. Taylor represents 21.11 percent of the Chiefs’ entire penalties, but he isn’t the only one. While Taylor shares the league lead with eight false starts and six offensive holdings, Chiefs guard Trey Smith is tied for third in the league with five holding calls against.
The NFL’s reigning MVP Mahomes is also having a down year. His 262.5 passing yards per game, 4.6 percent touchdown rate and 48.6 percent success rate are both on pace for career lows. Mahomes has already thrown a career-high 14 interceptions and is three sacks away from tying a new career-high in sacks.
Even Kelce himself is beginning to show signs of decline. The 34-year-old tight end is averaging a career-worst 10.8 yards per reception, with the second-lowest yards after catch per reception of his career. While he is still undoubtedly the Chiefs’ best offensive weapon, Kelce has slipped from an unguardable pass-catching tight end to a top-three-to-five tight end in the league. Still good, but a step back.
The Chiefs have already been eliminated from the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC playoff picture and have technically not clinched the AFC West yet. While the sun has not yet set on the Chiefs season, this might be Mahomes and Reid’s toughest road to the playoffs yet.
