Travis Kelce missed the opportunity to make history last weekend. The Chiefs tight end could have extended his streak of consecutive 1,000 yard seasons to eight against the Chargers in NFL Week 18, needing just 16 yards to achieve the feat. Many fans expected Kelce to suit up to extend the record, however, remarkably, he decided to sit out and allow his streak to come to an end at seven seasons.
It was certainly a surprising decision – one that Kelce has since discussed on his ‘New Heights’ podcast with brother Jason. According to the man himself, he was never that bothered about the record in the first place. “It just didn’t feel right in my gut,” Kelce said. “If I can get some rest going into next week, stay off the turf out in LA, and just avoid some hits man, I’m all for that.”
The then offered a rather blunt eight-word reaction to letting the streak die out. “I don’t give a s*** about the record,” he brazenly admitted. “It’s an arbitrary number, Jason added, suggesting some pro players aren’t actually that interested in individual, numbers-based records.
Mahomes also sat out the game as the Chiefs prepare for the Dolphins on wild-card weekend
Kelce wasn’t the only Kansas City star rested ahead of the playoffs. Superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes was also sidelined before the business end of the NFL season gets underway. However, according to Mahomes, he tried to force Kelce to play against the Chargers to break the record. “It’s the type of teammate he is. In all honesty I was trying to force him to play,” Mahomes said on 610 Sports Radio.
“I knew he was going to try not to play and he wanted to be about the team and not about him. The KC QB then revealed that Kelce defied his suggestion because he wanted to avoid picking up an injury in a meaningless game. “I was trying to force him all the way up until game time and then he said, ‘No, that’s not who I am, I don’t want to play for those reasons. I want to get myself rested and healthy for the playoffs,'” Mahomes added.
It was probably for the best as the Chiefs have a huge wild-card round clash against the Miami Dolphins this weekend. The Chiefs are the reigning Super Bowl champions and haven’t lost an opening game of the playoffs since 2017 against the Tennessee Titans, but come up against a Dolphins squad stacked with talent.
The likes of Tyreek Hill and Tua Tagovailoa will also be looking to avenge their 21-14 Week 9 loss to the Chiefs which took place in Frankfurt, Germany. However, Mike McDaniel’s team are one of the most hot and cold teams in the league, and are coming off the back of a 21-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills in their regular season finale which cost them the AFC’s No.2 seed. Still, they’re not to be underestimated, and if Kansas are to advance to the divisional round they will need all of their weapons – Mahomes and Kelce included – at their disposal.
