Kansas City Chiefs’ hopes of making the playoffs are hanging by a thread with the team in crisis mode after losing to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
And for Travis Kelce, it means he faces the very real prospect of his NFL career petering out to a catastrophic ending on January 4, when the Chiefs’ regular season ends in Las Vegas on the road to the Raiders.
The tight end scored a touchdown in the first quarter of Thursday’s 31-28 loss to the Cowboys and is having a superb individual season. After a poor 2024 and an offseason dedicated to getting into the best shape possible, he is reaping the rewards.
He is 36, though, and out of contract after this campaign ends, whatever the Chiefs manage to do from here. Only two weeks ago, he admitted that it’s very possible this is the last year we see him in the NFL.
‘I’d like to make that decision before they’ve got to get draft picks and free agency opens to fill the roster appropriately,’ Kelce said last week. ‘All that will be at the end of the season. I won’t be thinking about it until then.’
But now, it’s win or bust for the Chiefs, according to Kelce’s quarterback and close friend, Patrick Mahomes. Kansas City have to be flawless from here. There is no room left for another loss.
Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are in crisis mode after losing to the Dallas Cowboys
Patrick Mahomes looked shellshocked as he made his way off the field at AT&T Stadium
Kelce scored a touchdown and continues to have a good season on an individual level
‘If we are going to make the playoffs, we have got to win them all,’ Mahomes said after the game. ‘You’ve got to win every game now and hope that’s enough. We’ve got to play a lot of good football teams.
‘Our ceiling is playing in the Super Bowl. At the end of the day you’ve got to go out and do it on a week in and week out basis. We can beat anybody but we’ve shown we can lose to anybody.’
The winning run must start next Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium when the Chiefs host the Houston Texans. They follow that with another home game on Dec. 14 against AFC West rivals Los Angeles Chargers. Justin Herbert’s team opened the season by beating the Chiefs in Brazil.
On Dec 21 they meet Tennessee Titans in Nashville, who currently have the worst record in the NFL. Four days later, on Christmas Day, it’s AFC West leaders Denver Broncos at Arrowhead before the Raiders game.
For the Chiefs, playoffs or not, it’s hard to imagine they will want to lose Kelce given what he has shown this season.
‘I think we all came into this season thinking that this would for sure be Travis Kelce’s last season, but he’s been playing like he has year(s) left,’ Pete Sweeney, the Chiefs reporter for the Kansas City Star, wrote on X after Kelce’s touchdown in Dallas. He now has five touchdowns this season, and 674 yards to his name in 12 games.
But as the Chiefs lick their wounds on the way home from Texas, some key men have gotten hurt, too.
Josh Simmons left the AT&T Stadium with his left wrist in a cast – it later emerged he had dislocated and fractured it – and Jawaan Taylor went out in the third quarter with an elbow injury. They also started the game without Trey Smith, who was inactive because of an ankle injury.
Kelce has insisted he will not think about his potential retirement until after the season
Pressure and scrutiny is growing on Andy Reid with the Chiefs needing to win every game now
‘A few guys got banged up, it was a short week,’ Chris Jones said after the game.
‘These next games are going to be critical to us as a team. It’s about honing in, coming closer together, relying on each, pushing each other and making sure we have emphasis on these last few games.’
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, meanwhile, seemed to criticize the officiating in the game while accepting that his team have got to be smarter. Trent McDuffie especially had a hard day up against CeeDee Lamb.
‘Bottom line is we were having too many penalties,’ Reid said. ‘We got to make sure we take care of that, both sides of the ball. To get off the field on third downs, stay on the field offensively, not backing yourself up. No excuses, we will work on cleaning it up.’
Kelce, though, didn’t speak on his way out the stadium. He has a long weekend ahead to think about how a six-week run that could shape his legacy.
Chase Daniel, a former teammate of Kelce’s at the Chiefs for two years after he was drafted in 2013, think this is not the end.
Sharing a video of his teammate’s touchdown against the Cowboys, he wrote: ‘Travis Kelce is not slowing down….makes me wonder if he’s going to play another year.’
