Travis Kelce is undoubtedly the most dominant tight end in NFL playoff history. His touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes’ passes have elated the Kansas City Chiefs’ fans for years. Kelce has played a crucial role in the Chiefs’ three Super Bowl wins.
The 35-year-old has helped the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions reach another AFC Championship Game to close the 2024-25 season. The Chiefs are just two wins away from scripting history. NFL fans sometimes criticize and label Kelce as washed, but the Chiefs TE doesn’t seem to care.
Let’s take a look at what Kelce had to say about his haters ahead of the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills.
Travis Kelce’s Response to His Haters
The Chiefs are chasing a feat that has never been achieved in NFL history — a three-peat. Kelce might already be preparing himself for another Super Bowl ring. The Chiefs tight end addressed the media on Friday, Jan. 24, ahead of the matchup against the Bills.
Amid other questions, one reporter asked Kelce about how the comments calling him slower than before and washed make him feel. “I laugh at it,” Kelce said with a smile.
“It’s fun, man. As long as I’m going out there and we’re winning, baby, that’s all that matters,” he added.
Travis’ full press conference today pic.twitter.com/XLuLiTQFyc
— 🏈👑 | fan acct. (@TayvisHaze) January 24, 2025
The veteran has been on a whole different level this postseason. The Chiefs secured the No. 1 seed with a 15-2 record in the regular season. After receiving a bye in the Wild Card Round, they faced the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round. Kelce showed the NFL world that he is still the real deal.
Against the Texans, Kelce looked anything but washed up. He caught seven passes for 117 receiving yards and a touchdown. With this performance, Kelce pushed his career playoff total to over 2,000 receiving yards, joining legendary wide receiver Jerry Rice as the only player in NFL history to reach this milestone.
Kelce is the same beast as ever in the postseason. In the 2023-24 playoffs, the Chiefs TE recorded a career-high 32 receptions and was only five yards short of his best postseason total. He has the most receptions in playoff history and is only 225 yards behind Rice for the most receiving yards in the postseason.
However, Kelce’s regular season performance declined slightly in 2023 and 2024. After breaching the 1,000-yard mark for a tight end-record seven years, Kelce missed the milestone by only 16 yards in 2023. The 10-time Pro Bowler fetched only 823 yards in 2024.
In 2023, Kelce’s yards per reception (10.6) went below 12 for the first time in his career outside of his rookie season. The graph declined even further this year as the tight end recorded only 8.5 yards/reception. Despite the decline, Kelce has managed to keep up the reception totals (seven straight seasons with 90+ receptions).
Kelce will be eyeing the chance to shut the mouths of his haters again when he suits up against the Bills in the AFC title game.