Travis Kelce Breaks Silence On Helmet-Throwing Meltdown During Chiefs Game
By Kelly Coffey-Behrens on December 27, 2023 at 1:30 PM EST
Travis Kelce is addressing the meltdown he had during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Christmas day game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The NFL star was extremely emotional during the game on Monday, December 25, as he was seen throwing his helmet on the sideline and screaming in anger.
After he threw his helmet (and broke it), head coach Andy Reid spoke to the tight end one-on-one, though it is unclear what was said during this interaction. Quarterback and close friend Patrick Mahomes then came over and was seen saying something to Kelce as well.
Travis Kelce was not stoked pic.twitter.com/Px1Q1EnfCb
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 25, 2023
A few days after the game, while on his podcast, which he hosts with his brother and Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce, the NFL star finally addressed the meltdown he had.
Travis Kelce Regrets Meltdown During Chiefs Game
“He’s [Andy Reid] looking out for me, and I love him for it. I didn’t go back out there and play good,” Kelce said on his “New Heights” podcast.
“He wanted to see the fire in me, and I reacted in a bad way. He wanted to just get the best out of me, and right now I’m just not playing my best football and I gotta f–-ing lock the f–k in, be more accountable for him, be more accountable for my teammates," the tight end said, adding, "I gotta keep my f–-ing cool because as a leader on this team that’s not how you switch the momentum.”
The NFL star went on to say how "frustrating" it is right now as the team has lost three out of five of their last games.
“It’s a frustrating f–ing experience right now,” Kelce said on the podcast. “Every single day we’re going in here fixing it, I promise you guys, it’s not just one guy, it’s not just me playing like dog s–t, it’s not just 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.”
The Chiefs have not yet clinched a playoff spot, but they are still in playoff contention -- and in order to make the playoffs, Kelce knows the entire team has got to come together and play as one united front.
“Everybody’s just gotta do their f–king job. Every single play, it’s someone not doing their job. It’s me, one by one it’s everybody on the team,” Kelce said on his podcast, adding, “We show signs of sparks of what kind of offense we can be. … It hasn’t been a well-oiled machine like we’ve been in the past. We just got to get everybody on the same f–king page"
The NFL star then concluded by saying, "We got to take a little bit more ownership in what we’re doing. I’m not saying that I’m out of this, I’m the main part of this. We got to try to find a way to clean this s–t up, man.”
After the Chiefs loss, Kelce's girlfriend, pop icon and singer Taylor Swift, was there to comfort him as they were seen leaving Arrowhead Stadium hand-in-hand.
Andy Reid Addresses Travis Kelce's Meltdown
Following the game, head coach Andy Reid addressed the Travis Kelce helmet-throwing moment, stating “He went back in and did a nice job."
He added, "Things happen, emotional game. Trav’s emotional, and sometimes my red hair gets to me a little bit, but it all works out.”