Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid had a simple explanation for his tight end, Travis Kelce, berating his teammates during Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
At the end of the second quarter, Kelce slammed his helmet on the turf and appeared to shout at his teammates: ‘I’m sick of this s***!’
The tight end was visibly furious despite Patrick Mahomes running through for a touchdown at Arrowhead, having seemingly been left frustrated with Kansas City’s offensive line.
Speaking to reporters after the game on Sunday, Reid explained that this was Kelce’s way of trying to galvanize his teammates.
‘Listen, he was trying to get guys fired up and going,’ Reid said. ‘That’s him. He’s that way every week if you keep an eye on him so he’s all-in all the time. That’s the way he was today.’
Reid had been on the receiving end of a Kelce rant in the past, notably getting an earful from the tight end before going on to win Super Bowl LVIII.
Andy Reid said Travis Kelce’s outburst on Sunday was his way of motivating his teammates
Reid had previously been on the receiving end of Kelce’s rage in Super Bowl LVIII
Kelce’s rant came after the Chiefs had scored a touchdown to take a brief 10-7 lead.
Two plays prior to the score, Mahomes was sacked for ten yards. However, that loss of yards was wiped out by two offsetting holding penalties. The next play, Mahomes was forced to scramble out of a designed pass and gained six yards.
On the touchdown, Mahomes once again had to abort any hope of a pass and scrambled – but found the end zone.
Offensive line has been a major concern for the Chiefs, who drafted Ohio State’s Josh Simmons to help that issue.
However, the loss of key veterans like Joe Thuney and DJ Humphries have left the Chiefs searching for answers to protect Mahomes.
The offensive line allowed two sacks in the Chiefs’ opening game of the season, a 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
In their Week 2 game, the Eagles kicked a field goal just before halftime to tie the contest at 10-10.
The Chiefs O-Line has struggled to protect star passer Patrick Mahomes the last two seasons
Later in the game, Kelce bobbled a surefire touchdown catch – turning it into an interception
Kelce was seen ripping off his helmet in frustration after the crucial mistake
On Philadelphia’s first drive of the second half, they kicked a field goal again to take a 13-10 lead.
And with the visitors in control, Kelce was left red-faced when he made a costly error for Kansas City, not long after he berated his teammates for not protecting Mahomes enough.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs were setting up to take the lead when Mahomes dropped back to pass and saw Kelce open over the middle.
Kelce misplayed the catch and bobbled the ball off his hands, then off his shoulder.
In a complete disaster, the ball then fell right into the hands of Eagles defensive back Andrew Mukuba, who picked off the pass and ran 41 yards with it.
Kelce was caught on Fox’s cameras taking off his helmet in frustration before staring off into the distance in disbelief.
The Eagles eventually held firm for a 20-17 victory in their Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs, who were beaten again seven months on from that bruising night in New Orleans.
