By his lofty standards, 2024 was a down season for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Yet he and the Chiefs stand on the verge of NFL history, with just the Philadelphia Eagles standing between them and becoming the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
After seven consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards, Kelce has dipped below that threshold these past two years. During the 2023 season Kelce hauled in 93 passes for 984 yards and 5 touchdowns — after grabbing 110 passes for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022 — and this past season Kelce caught 97 passes for 823 yards and 3 scores.
That yardage mark represents the second-lowest total of his NFL career with only his rookie season — where he appeared in just one game and did not catch a pass — lower.
That dip in product has, in part, spurred rumors about his NFL future. On Saturday night Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that despite Kelce’s public comments earlier in the week about continuing his career into 2025 and beyond, sources close to the tight end indicated that Kelce has not yet decided about coming back, and that his decision could be impacted by the outcome of Super Bowl LIX.
Still, the connection between Kelce and Patrick Mahomes cannot be ignored, and that connection was on display in Kansas City’s 23-14 win over the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round. That afternoon Kelce caught 7 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, finding space to operate in the middle of Houston’s defense as he did on this 49-yard play in the second quarter:
Kelce has also turned in some big games in the Super Bowl before. In Super Bowl LVII against the Eagles, he caught 6 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown, and against the San Francisco 49ers a year ago he hauled in 9 passes for 93 yards.
However, he will be facing an Eagles defense that has allowed just 68 receptions to tight ends this year, tied for third-lowest in the league.
We’ll be tracking Kelce’s Super Bowl LIX here, so follow along all night.
First quarter
Kelce was not targeted in the first quarter which tells you everything you need to know about how dominant the Eagles defense has been to begin this game. In coverage, Kelce is mainly drawing rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean, one of the NFLs finalists for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Patrick Mahomes has thrown the ball six times to just one run play for the Chiefs. If the Eagles continue to dominate the time of possession through the remaining three quarters, you can expect Mahomes to look even more often towards Kelce in hopes of throwing his team to victory in yet another Super Bowl
Second quarter
UPDATE: The Chiefs began their first drive of the second quarter backed up at their own two-yard line. After two short completions, Mahomes attempted to squeeze a quick pass to Kelce between two defenders past the first down marker but the ball was thrown low and it bounced off the turf which forced another Chiefs punt.
Kelce entered the locker room at halftime with zero receptions on two targets in the first half. As a whole, the Chiefs offense has the fewest yards of Mahomes’ career in the first half of a football game. It’s also the third time Mahomes has been shut out in the first 30 minutes.
If the Chiefs want to pull off one of the largest comebacks in NFL history, Mahomes and Kelce will have to unlock a whole new level yet unseen to give themselves a chance of three-peating as Super Bowl champions.
Third quarter
UPDATE: With 3:24 left on the clock in the third quarter, Kelce secured his first reception of the game on a third-and-13 play that helped set up a fourth-and-five the Chiefs were forced to go for while down 27 points. Unfortunately, the pass was broken up by Avonte Maddox and Kansas City turned it over on downs.
Fourth quarter
TBD