Travis Kelce is in his “JAG” era.
Kelce’s three-week “Invisible Man” Tour continued Sunday night with a third straight awful performance in the Chiefs’ 22-17 road win over the Falcons that had NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” crew questioning both why the three-time champion has looked like “just a guy” to start the season, and seemingly where his priorities lie.
The 34-year-old tight end, who is dating Taylor Swift, has eight catches for 69 yards and zero touchdowns this season after hauling in four catches for 30 yards Sunday.
Fantasy football owners can’t believe Travis Kelce’s slow start. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
“He’s busy, he’s got a lot on his plate,” former Patriots great Rodney Harrison said. “You think about it, he’s doing a lot of different things media-wise, he’s playing football, he’s got other things going on. It’s a lot of stuff going on. But when you’re in that situation, you got to focus on everything else and you got to focus 100 percent on football and that’s the main responsibility.
“Guys making plays on him, you see Jessie Bates did a heck of a job on him tonight. He just doesn’t have the same speed. He’s a good player still. I don’t believe he’s a great, great player.”
While the Chiefs are 3-0 in their quest to three-peat, the one seemingly large red flag is how Kelce has gone from a difference-maker to basically running cardio.
Once the king of his position, Kelce has fewer receiving yards than the likes of Eric Saubert, Josh Whyle and Brenton Strange. (If you can name each of their teams, bonus points will be awarded.)
Rodney Harrison (r) hinted at Travis Kelce not being fully committed to football. @TayvisHaze/X
The uneasiness of Kelce’s struggles went to a new level right before halftime Sunday night.
NBC first showed Kelce, who had two catches for 4 yards in the half, looking dejected on the bench.
Analyst Cris Collinsworth then highlighted how Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes are not connecting this year while the players left the field for halftime with Atlanta leading 14-13.
“I’m just flabbergasted. I mean, one game, big deal. Two games, alright. This is the third game now where we have not seen the magic of (Patrick) Mahomes and (Travis) Kelce, and I can’t really explain that one.” – Cris Collinsworth 🏈📺🎙️ #SNF #NFL pic.twitter.com/WkfQKWlG7Y
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 23, 2024
Cris Collinsworth (r) is surprised by the lack of the Mahomes-Kelce magic. @awfulannouncing/X
Kelce had just one catch for 5 yards last week against the Bengals after tallying 34 yards on three catches — somehow a season-high — in Week 1.
“I’m just flabbergasted. I mean, one game, big deal,” Collinsworth said. “Two games, alright. It’s the third game now where we have not seen the magic of Mahomes and Kelce, and I can’t really explain that one.”
Both Mahomes and coach Andy Reid have attempted to downplay Kelce’s production by saying he’s being double-and-triple-covered and Mahomes mentioned that being the case Sunday again.
Travis Kelce has eight catches for 69 yards this season. Getty Images
“It’s crazy because teams still, the respect factor they have for Travis is unreal,” Mahomes said. “It’s well-deserved. We’re calling a lot of plays for Travis and it’s like two or three people are going to him. He understands, I think that’s the great part about him, he wants to make an impact on the game but he wants to win at the end of the day.
“I’m going to try to do my best to keep feeding him the ball whenever he’s there and whenever he’s open. … People are really emphasizing trying to take him away and it’s getting other guys open.”
Kelce is on pace for the worst season of his career. Getty Images
The one hole in that theory would be that teams have covered Kelce with multiple men in the past and he’s still exploited the coverage to be the league’s premier tight end.
Kelce seemingly is not creating separation this year, which would align with Harrison’s theory about his skills degrading from “great” to “good.”
It’s surely possible that Kelce is playing a large role in why wideout Rashee Rice is having a great season with 24 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns, including 12 catches for 110 yards and one touchdown Sunday, but Kelce has thrived in the past aside a dominant receiver in Tyreek Hill.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift at the 2024 U.S. Open. GC Images
Until Kelce changes the narrative, folks will continue to wonder whether he’s more focused on his off-the-field exploits, be it his “New Heights” podcast with brother Jason Kelce, his plenty of commercials or his touring of the world with Swift, whom he joined on stage for her Eras Tour in London.
Kelce said the slow start wasn’t bothering him on last week’s “New Heights” podcast, and he will have a chance to change the tune next Sunday when the Chiefs visit the Chargers.
