What happened to the Patrick Mahomes-Travis Kelce duo who broke Tom Brady-Rob Gronkowski’s playoff TD record last year? The Chiefs might be 3-0, but they’re struggling a bit on offense. Well, Mahomes and his crew haven’t been firing on all cylinders yet. In the last 3 games, Kelce only has 8 receptions over 69 yards and no TDs.

On September 23rd, the Bengals former OT appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and gave his two cents about how Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes are an irreplaceable duo in the Kansas City Chiefs offense. Maybe Kelce isn’t washed up. Maybe he just needs to find his groove with the 3x Super Bowl-winning QB once again. Or, are there more logical reasons behind the regression? Here’s Andrew Whitworth’s reasoning as to why the Kansas City Chiefs are struggling without the TE.

“When those two start connecting, it just feels like the momentum, the energy of that football team just electrifies and it’s like ‘Man, we don’t know if we can stop them when we start that.’ Because Kelce is such a fireplace, just a spark to their team, and his demeanor, his attitude, the passion he has for football,” said the former NFLer. He then went on to point out how defenses are hell-bent on stopping Kelce.

“And so, I think teams come out and say, ‘Hey, we don’t want this guy to catch the football no matter what,’” Whitworth told Rich Eisen. All this to just say that Travis Kelce is just too integral for the Chiefs. But 8 receptions, 69 yards, no touchdowns is far from anything special. Also did you notice how Patrick Mahomes and Rashee Rice are connecting more and more by each passing game? Apparently, that’s a strategy to deceive defenses and get Travis Kelce open.

After the night against the Atlanta Falcons, the Kansas City Chiefs star took to the podium and explained, “I’m gonna try to do my best to keep feeding him the [pigskin] whenever he’s there, whenever he’s open. I think the more Rashee [Rice] makes plays, the more we’re able to run the football, the more we can get [Xavier] Worthy involved, I think that’s going to open Travis up more. People are really emphasizing trying to take him away and that’s getting other guys open.”

There are other quirky opinions floating around the internet as a lot of folks think that Kelce is “washed up” and what he’s going through is the “Taylor Swift effect.” But Mahomes and Andy Reid know the truth and they might just be chuckling on the inside. Yes, there is a lag in performance, and yes, the Chiefs HC is worried. But not for the reasons you think of.

Andy Reid gets real about Travis Kelce

Well, the reason for Kelce’s sub-par numbers is that the defenses are really zeroing in on him. They don’t want to him have the pigskin at all. So, that’s the reason for bad numbers. Now, Mahomes is forced to throw to Rashee Rice, who is also a heck of a receiver in his own right. At this point, per Andy Reid, Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice’s fates are tied in a knot.

“Well, I’ve mentioned to you [that] how Rashee [Rice’s] game goes is kind of how Kelce’s goes,” Reid said. “So, what [defenses are] doing is they’re working hard at taking Kelce out of the picture. And Kelce is going, ‘Hey, listen. If they’re going to do that, then Rashee’s going to get a lot of catches.’ He knows that, but somewhere that levels off.”

Kelce is aggressively getting double teamed and it’s going to stay that way. The Chiefs are playing a long game and trying to get defenses to switch up, before they get back to their old ways. You’ll get a better idea of this once you take a look at what happened towards the end of the last season. Kelce scored just a single touchdown in the last 8 games of the 2023 season.

Then Kelce and Mahomes broke Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski’s post season TD record and went to the Super Bowl. The Chiefs duo has 18 post season touchdowns while the Patriots stalwarts stand at 15. On that note, it might be safe to assume that Kelce will bounce back eventually and win a Super Bowl or two because these may be his final years as an NFL TE.

What do you think about Kelce’s recent performance? Is it too early to judge? Let us know in the comments.