Footage of a dejected Travis Kelce appearing to ‘give up’ on Patrick Mahomes during their defeat at the Super Bowl has left Chiefs fans furious.
Kansas City were well beaten by the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans on Sunday night, a result which shattered their hopes of becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era to pull off a famous three-peat.
It proved a miserable evening for the now-former champions, who were flattered by the eventual 40-22 scoreline given Philadelphia dominated most of the game and even led 34-0 at one stage.
Mahomes in particular was nowhere near his best at the Superdome, throwing two costly interceptions – including a pick six – while taking six sacks in a bruising loss for his team.
Yet towards the end of the third quarter, fans have accused Kelce of giving up on the Chiefs quarterback and ultimately leaving him in a vulnerable position.
In a highlight from the game shared on Reddit, the ball is snapped back to Mahomes on the Eagles’ 40-yard line before he twists and turns with it while being chased down by three defenders.
Kelce is seen throwing his arms out in frustration as Mahomes runs the ball in the third quarter
The tight end then stops and lets an Eagles defender run through and slam into his teammate
Kelce can initially be seen at the bottom of the screen throwing his arms out in frustration as his teammate continues to run with the ball rather than release it.
And by the time Mahomes eventually sprints through the middle to make the first down, albeit with a flag down on the play, the Chiefs tight end simply watches on nearby while rooted to the spot.
As a result, a passive Kelce left Eagles linebacker Oren Burks free to brutally slam into Mahomes as he dived to the ground with the ball.
Chiefs supporters took aim at Travis over the clip, branding his behavior ‘inexcusable’ on the play.
On a Reddit post titled ‘Travis Kelce gives up on the play while Patrick Mahomes is running for his life’, one user replied: ‘And Kelce’s man, who he probably could’ve blocked, proceeds to HAMMER Mahomes.’
Another fan said: ‘Throwing his hands up in frustration BEFORE THE PLAY IS EVEN OVER is inexcusable at any level in the NFL, its next level to see that in the Super Bowl from your supposed leader.’
‘Kelce played like a 35 YO TE that’s been riding the high of success for a long time who just crashed back to reality,’ posted a third. ‘He was slow, winded and looked disinterested.’
‘F**k that. Strange lack of effort there for sure,’ said a fourth. ‘I only played college ball but if you pulled that BS….lmao good luck watching tape.’
Fans on Reddit branded his actions ‘inexcusable’ after watching the highlight from the game
While one joked about his relationship with Taylor Swift: ‘Mans was so demoralized he wasn’t gonna get to propose after the 3-peat that he couldn’t get his head back into the game’.
Kelce was largely anonymous in Sunday night’s game, recording four catches for just 39 yards while Swift was booed by fans as she watched on from a VIP suite.
And on the back of their dismal showing, the 35-year-old has admitted he is now contemplating retirement.
On Wednesday’s episode of New Heights, Travis told his older brother Jason that ‘wear and tear’ could tempt him to hang up his cleats this offseason.
‘The fact that we keep going to these AFC Championships and these Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games than everybody else in the entire league,’ he explained.
‘That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body and it’s a lot of time spent in the building, focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand, every challenge that you set up for yourself. That process can be grueling, it can weigh on you.
Kelce admitted on Wednesday that he is contemplating retirement after Sunday’s defeat
‘It can make you better [but] it can drive you crazy at the same time, and right now it’s one of those things where it was kind of driving me crazy this year. It happens when you kind of tail off towards the back nine of your career. When you feel yourself not have the success that you used to have, it’s a tough pill to swallow.
‘And then on top of that to not be there in the biggest moments, knowing your team’s counting on you man… it’s just a tough reality.’
‘I’m gonna take some time to figure it out,’ he continued. ‘And I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back that it’s gonna be a wholehearted decision and I’m not half-a**ing it, and I’m fully here for them.
‘I think I can play, it’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility.’
