Travis Kelce Says He Isn’t ‘Really Pissed Off’ About His Slow Start This Season: ‘Just Tough for Me to Deal’

A seasoned veteran of the NFL, Travis Kelce has learned to keep his cool amid adversity.

On a new episode of his podcast New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, reflected on going touchdown-less in the first two games of the season.

“I used to get really, really pissed off and almost lose my cool,” Travis told his brother Jason, 36, about past frustrating performances. “I just like to play the game to such a high level of accountability that it’s just tough for me to deal with being mediocre or having stats that represent that.”

In the Chiefs’ first two games of the season — against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 5 and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 15 — Travis has collectively made four catches for 39 yards. Those numbers aren’t on par with the tight end’s usual stats, but he said he’s not worried about picking up the pace as the season continues.

The Chiefs star explained how “a lot of things” have to “go right for anybody to get the ball” in a competitive NFL game, and it just hasn’t happened yet between him and Kansas City’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“It’s just for whatever reason, these past two games, it hasn’t gone that way for me, and that’s football, man. I’m not about to sit here and get frustrated about it,” Travis remarked.

Travis added that he “stopped caring about stats about four or five years ago,” and that helped him be able to “just play free” and develop a “better mentality” around competition.

Mahomes, too, said he’s not concerned about Travis’ early stats.

“Obviously we’ve played two opponents [Ravens, Bengals] we’ve played a lot, so they have a plan on how they’re going to account for Travis,” Mahomes told reporters after their win on Sunday. “But as the season goes on, I mean, he’s going to get his catches, he’s going to get his yards, but the leader he is, what’s special is he’s hyping everybody up, he’s keeping everybody motivated, and that’s what you need out of your great players.”

In the matchup against Joe Burrow and the Bengals, the Chiefs narrowly defeated Cincinnati in a thrilling game in front of Travis’ girlfriend Taylor Swift.

Burrow’s Bengals carried a 16-10 lead into halftime but Kansas City took the advantage in the third quarter with a touchdown, before the teams continued trading leads.

Mahomes, 29, threw two interceptions in the game and Burrow fumbled at the start of the fourth quarter, but it was a 51-yard field goal from Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker that secured Kansas City its second win of the season.