National Football League

Travis Kelce calls Chiefs' loss to Broncos 'embarrassing'

Updated Nov. 1, 2023 4:28 p.m. ET

Travis Kelce might be dating Taylor Swift, but when it comes to the Chiefs' upset loss against the Broncos on Sunday, the star NFL tight end is not taking the pop star's famous advice to "Shake It Off."

On the most recent episode of the podcast he co-hosts with his brother Jason Kelce, Travis was still smarting from Kansas City's loss. Denver had entered Week 8 with a 2-5 record and had not beaten the Chiefs since September 2015, when Peyton Manning was still the Broncos' quarterback.

"F---, that's embarrassing, man," Travis said as soon as Jason brought up the 24-9 final score. "It felt awkward during the game, like we couldn't get anything going. You talk about that sense of urgency on the sideline, it didn't feel like we had too much of that. And when we finally had that sense of urgency, we turned the ball over and got it ripped right out of our hearts.

"Our defense is playing their tail off, man. And for us to keep turning it over, putting them in bad positions and them saving our tail, it's getting real one-sided."

To Travis' point, the Chiefs — whose identity during their current dynastic run has been in their three-headed offensive monster of head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Kelce — have the second-best scoring defense in the NFL this season, allowing just 16.1 points per game, and rank fifth in defensive DVOA. But the Chiefs offense has sputtered in recent weeks behind an inconsistent passing attack that lacks depth behind Travis Kelce.

"I don't think I've been in a situation where we've stalled this much as an offense throughout the year," Kelce said. "Definitely at this point in the season. We have a lot of guys that usually figure out how to get this thing going. It's just frustrating, man. … We've got, in my mind, the best offensive mind in the game [Reid], we've got the best quarterback [Mahomes]. So this is unacceptable, and we all feel that way. Don't think we're not feeling the urgency."

Kelce leads Kansas City with 583 receiving yards despite missing the Chiefs' season opener with an injury. The next-highest receiving yards total on the Chiefs belongs to 23-year-old rookie Rashee Rice with 361 yards.

Patrick Mahomes no longer tops Nick’s QB Tiers

The Chiefs have had several notable departures on offense in recent seasons — most notably Tyreek Hill, who was traded to the Miami Dolphins before the 2022 season and remains one of the best wideouts in the NFL, and former offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy, who left for the same role with the Washington Commanders after the Chiefs' Super Bowl triumph last February.

Kansas City still has one of the NFL's best records at 6-2 and remains among the betting favorites to win this year's Super Bowl, which would be their third championship in five seasons.

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