Travis Kelce Says He 'Stopped Caring About Stats' Following Dismal Start

Travis Kelce knows fantasy football owners aren’t happy with him, but he’s letting it roll right off his back.

Following a slow start to the season through the first two games — which has seen the Kansas City Chiefs star catch just three passes for a total of 39 yards and zero touchdowns — Kelce, 34, argued he’s no longer concerned solely about his own bottom line. 

“I stopped caring about stats about four or five years ago,” he said on his podcast “New Heights” Wednesday, September 18. “I just went out there and started to play free and play for my guys. Sure enough, I think that’s the better mentality. You think about it more play by play and what your job is on that specific play.”

Kelce only caught one pass for a total of five yards during the Sunday, September 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, marking the first time since September 2018 that he didn’t have three or more receptions in a game. 

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“For whatever reason, these past two games it hasn’t gone that way for me,” he told brother Jason Kelce. “That’s football, man. I’m not about to sit here and get frustrated about it. I used to get really, really pissed off and almost lose my cool a lot of the time from not having that success knowing I demand that out of myself. I just like to play the game to such a high level of accountability that it’s tough for me to deal with me being mediocre or having stats that represent that.”

Despite Kelce’s underwhelming start, the Chiefs are 2-0 to start the season, which he placed on the shoulders of his teammates on the other side of the ball. 

“I think the defense is playing their asses off,” Kelce gushed. “Getting turnovers, finding a way to make opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable. They’re really making it hard for them to throw the ball downfield with the type of pressures that we’re getting and how good our coverage is right now.”

He continued, “We have to match that accountability on the offensive side to really become another Super Bowl-caliber team. I put that on me. I think it starts with the leaders. I think it starts with making sure you go in with the right mentality.”

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Looking ahead, Kelce knows he has things to work on as the Chiefs attempt to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls. 

“It’s just, how can I be better in those moments? What’s the issue?” he suggested. “Am I not getting out on my route fast enough? Whatever the situation may be. It’s all play-specific anyway.”

Kelce added, “Typically you see these kind of games earlier on and you keep trying to get better and better and more accountable for the guys around you.”

The Chiefs return to action on Sunday, September 22 when they travel to Atlanta to take on Kirk Cousins and the Falcons on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.