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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

Green confetti was still pouring down at the Caesars Superdome. Eagles were still soaking in the massive triumphant over the Chiefs. Some of their players had tears of joy, while some were in disbelief at the reality. Make no mistake—it wasn’t a David and Goliath story. It was a straight-up utter humiliation on the biggest night of football. And when the cameras suddenly switched to Travis Kelce walking off the gridiron with his head down while hiding his tears. Questions arise: Was that Kelce’s last game in Chiefs colors? Is this the end of a player who showed clear signs of regression throughout the season?

Well, 15 days have since gone by in a flash, with a verdict yet to come from Kelce on his retirement. So, with his future still in doubt, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has a suggestion for him. Speaking at the NFL Combine in Indy, Reid sent a clear message to his veteran TE. Get out of town and relax. That’s my motto for these guys. They played a lot of games for a consistent amount of seasons here. So, you get to the end and you’ve exhausted yourself mentally and physically. Step back and take care of that, then, we’ll talk.” 

See, the Chiefs have already given Kelce a deadline to decide whether he wishes to return or not. Until March 14th, he has the time to think whether he wants to go for another season or if this is where he plans to stop.

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Like Kelce himself said after the Super Bowl loss, “I think I’m gonna take some time to figure it out. I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do comeback. It’s gonna be something that it’s a wholehearted decision and I’m not half-assing it.” And what better way to reach a verdict while you’re on vacation? Away from all the gridiron noises, Kelce has a chance to clear his head and do what’s right.

Clearly, he isn’t explosive like he used to, only mustering 823 receiving yards and 3 TDs. All of them career-low numbers since his rookie season.

So, let’s see what Kelce comes up with by the time March 14th knocks on his door. And while we await his decision, Reid yet again made us remember how damaging the Super Bowl loss was to the Chiefs. Something they would probably never forget for years to come.

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Is Andy Reid's advice to 'relax' the best way for players to bounce back from defeat?

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Andy Reid made his feelings known about the Super Bowl LIX horrors

No one in their nightmares could have predicted the Chiefs to lose in the fashion they lost in the Super Bowl. It was a twist that no one saw coming, like a climax to Christopher Nolan’s script, but before the movie even started. The game was actually over before the Chiefs could even put points on the board. Down by 34 points in the 3rd quarter, the Eagles were cruising for the rest of the game.

Hell, they even soaked Nick Sirianni with a Gatorade bath with less than 2 minutes still on the clock. That shows the level of humiliation the Chiefs had to face under the lights in New Orleans. Like Reid said in the NFL Combine, “It was a bad day to have a bad day. We didn’t play very well and certainly didn’t coach very well. It hurts for a few days, and then you move on.” 

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Move on? Come on, let’s be honest. It’s not that easy to move on. You had the golden opportunity to become the first team ever to 3-peat with a chance to rewrite the record books. Actually, the Chiefs did rewrite the record books, but on the wrong page. They became the 9th team in the NFL to botch a 3-peat attempt, joining the likes of the Patriots and the Dolphins. 

To be honest, they may never get to this stage again, at least with Travis Kelce still playing. So, what happens in the next few days remains to be seen. Either Kelce will come back with a vengeance in his mind. Or, he has probably made peace with his diminished capabilities.

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Is Andy Reid's advice to 'relax' the best way for players to bounce back from defeat?

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