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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce told reporters that his team “hadn’t played that bad all year” after losing 40-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.
Sam Fortier @Sam4TR
Travis Kelce on the Kansas City Chiefs’s Super Bowl loss:
“We haven’t played that bad all year.” pic.twitter.com/n6N6gzBVwo
Kelce made his remark after being asked about the “most shocking” part of the loss, a matchup where the reigning two-time Super Bowl champion Chiefs trailed 34-0 in the third quarter.
This was a nightmarish game for the Chiefs, particularly so on offense. Philadelphia sacked quarterback Patrick Mahomes six times and intercepted him twice, including once for a touchdown. Kansas City’s running game also stalled. Mahomes got going late with three touchdown passes, but a 34-0 deficit is near-impossible to overcome, and the Chiefs couldn’t dig out of the hole.
On defense, the Chiefs did well enough stopping running back Saquon Barkley, but they had trouble hindering quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Super Bowl MVP. He finished with three scores (two passing, one rushing), 17-of-22 completions for 221 yards and 11 carries for 72 rushing yards. Hurts did throw an interception, but it was irrelevant given how well he did otherwise.
The team’s performance was a stark contrast to the rest of the season. If you discard the Chiefs’ 38-0 regular season-ending loss to the Denver Broncos, when the team rested its starters after clinching the AFC’s No. 1 seed, Kansas City went 17-1 going into the Super Bowl. The Chiefs beat everyone on their schedule, getting revenge for a regular season loss to the Buffalo Bills by defeating them in the AFC Championship.
And then came the Super Bowl. The Eagles punched the Chiefs in the mouth early, and by the time Kansas City found its form, it was too late.
As for Kelce, he had a quiet game, catching just four passes for 39 yards. He was still second on the team in receiving, with Xavier Worthy (eight catches, 157 yards, two touchdowns) being the only Chiefs pass-catcher who authored a productive outing.
Overall, it was a tough blow for the Chiefs, who now have to regroup and hope for better days in 2025 after what could be a long offseason following a crushing loss.
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