Travis Kelce’s Slow Start to the 2024 NFL Season Explained

Travis KelceThe inauspicious start to the 2024 season has turned from whispers to roars.

Through the first three games of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end caught just eight passes for a total of 69 yards. To make matters worse, Kelce has yet to score a goal.

It’s been a trio of befuddling games for Kelce, 34, otherwise considered one of the best tight ends in NFL history, who signed a monster two-year, $34.5 million contract extension with the Chiefs in April.

So what happened?

related: Every Time Taylor Swift Attends an NFL Game to Cheer on Travis Kelce

Taylor Swift has enjoyed being the girl in the bleachers amid her blossoming romance with Travis Kelce. Swift made her first appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game in September 2023, watching them beat the Chicago Bears from the Kelce family’s private suite. After cheering along with his mother, Donna Kelce, he and Travis (…)

To understand why Kelce’s start is a hot topic — and a point of contention for some fantasy football owners — it’s important to look back at why expectations are so high for the nine-time Pro Bowler, and why his coaches and trainers. teammates have been forced to weigh in.

For full details on Kelce’s early historical significance, keep scrolling.

Why is Travis Kelce’s bad start such a big deal?

For one thing, this is Travis Kelce talking.

The three-time Super Bowl champion and four-time First Team All-Pro has been dominant when it comes to the NFL over the past decade.

Through the first three games of Kelce’s most productive season in 2022, he amassed 184 receiving yards on 17 receptions en route to career highs in receptions (110), receiving yards (1,338) and touchdowns (12).

related: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Relationship Timeline

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce everyone can talk about. Swift and Kelce were first linked in July 2023 when the Kansas City Chiefs revealed he tried to ask Swift out after participating in the Eras Tour. “I was a child, I could not give one of the bracelets that I wanted (…)

Just last year, after missing the first game of the season against the Detroit Lions with a knee injury, Kelce nabbed 155 yards receiving in his first three starts combined.

Currently, Kelce is on track to record more than 45 receptions this season, which would be 22 fewer than his smallest total during his first full season in 2014. His projected season total of 391 receiving yards would also be a career low. by an impressive margin, when he had 862 in 2014.

Is Travis Kelce’s dip in the Play new?

Well, it seems.

Kelce didn’t catch a touchdown in the Chiefs’ last six regular season games in 2023, making it a combined nine straight games that Kelce hasn’t found the end zone if you include this season.

However, Kelce turned it around in the playoffs where he had 355 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the Chiefs’ four postseason games.

Kelce’s Week 2 output against the Cincinnati Bengals was alarmingly lackluster, with only one reception for a total of five yards. It was the first time since September 2018 that Kelce didn’t have three or more receptions in a game.

Is Patrick Mahomes still trying to dump Travis Kelce?

Yes and no.

Through the first three games, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has targeted Kelce only 12 times with a 66 percent success rate.

By comparison, Mahomes targeted Kelce an average of 7.5 times per regular season game in 2023 and an average of 8.9 times per game in 2022.

related: Every Time Travis Kelce Brings Up Taylor Swift on ‘New Heights’ Podcast

Travis Kelce did not escape giving flowers to his girlfriend Taylor Swift on the podcast. The couple’s romance began shortly after Travis first mentioned the pop star on the “New Heights” podcast, which he cohosted with brother Jason Kelce. In July 2023, Travis remembers how he saw Swift perform at Arrowhead Stadium (…)

There are many reasons to explain why Kelce was not targeted, but the simplest answer is that the team guarded Kelce like his life depended on it.

“The respect factor they have for Travis is just unreal,” Mahomes, 29, said Sunday, Sept. 22 after the Chiefs’ 22-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. “It’s really worth it. But I mean, we called a lot of plays for Travis and like two or three guys were going to go to him.

What Did Travis Kelce Say About His Slow Start?

For the time being, Kelce usually takes it all in stride.

“I stopped caring about statistics about four or five years ago,” he told a relative Jason Kelce on the podcast “New Heights” September 18 “I just went out there and started to play for free and play for the guys. Of course, I think it’s a better mentality. You think about it more play by play and what is your job in the game specified.

Kelce continued, “Why, the last two games were not like that for me. That’s football, man. I’m not going to sit here and be frustrated about it. I used to get really, really angry and almost lost a lot of time from not success that I know demands something out of me. I just like to play the game with a high level of responsibility, so it’s hard to overcome me being mediocre or having statistics that represent it.”

Still, that team-first mentality seemed to backfire as the clock wound down against the Falcons on Sunday, during NBC Sunday Night Ball The camera caught Kelce looking frustrated and despondent on the sidelines.

During the broadcast, the veteran analyst Chris Collinsworth expressed disbelief at Kelce’s lack of production.

“I was just amazed,” Collinsworth said in the waning moments of the first half. “I mean, one game, big deal. Two games, okay. This is the third game where we haven’t seen the magic of Mahomes and Kelce. And I can’t explain it.

What The Head Coaching Staff Has To Say About Starting Travis Kelce?

After a win against the Bengals in Week 2, the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said Kelce has earned the patience of passionate football fans.

“He knows who he is,” Nagy, 46, said during a Thursday, September 19, press conference. “We know who they are. When you have them, it’s important to know them.

Nagy added, “It’s just a matter of time.”

Is Taylor Swift Responsible for Travis Kelce’s Subpar Play?

No, it’s not like that.

Who Is The Next Kansas City Chief Playing?

The Chiefs return to action on Friday, September 29 Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers (2-1) at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium.

After a trip to the west coast, Kelce and his squad return home to take on the New Orleans Saints on Monday, October 7th.