Following Kansas City’s 26-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Travis Kelce once again skipped his postgame media availability.
It has become a pattern after losses, and this time it landed differently, coming after a defeat to a team that entered the day with just two wins.
The Chiefs are not used to explaining seasons like this. For nearly a decade, December meant playoff positioning and momentum. Now it means questions with no clean answers.
Head coach Andy Reid tried to frame the loss as something that still carries value, even if the result was painful.
“Nobody likes losing in this business,” Reid said in his postgame press conference. “My hat goes off to the guys that put together all these years. That’s part of it. We can learn from it and need to do that going forward. Sometimes a good kick in the tail helps you, coaches and players.”
Kelce‘s decision to avoid the podium immediately became a talking point. Some around the league view it as dodging responsibility. Others see it as self-preservation in a season that has offered little to defend.
Supporters were quick to rally behind him online.
“More players should not speak to the media after games,” one fan wrote on X.
“Travis Kelce is proving he is the smartest person in the organization – players, coaches, staff, management, ownership family all included.”
Injuries and a shrinking margin for patience
The frustration around accountability unfolded alongside more damaging news. Quarterback Gardner Minshew suffered an ACL injury during the game, leaving Kansas City without him just one week after Patrick Mahomes went down with his own season-ending ACL tear.
Losing both quarterbacks in consecutive weeks is the kind of blow that can derail even the most stable organizations.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones acknowledged the gravity of the situation, but he did not allow it to become an excuse.
“It’s always unfortunate to just lose a player,” Jones said, “but we’re talking about a quarterback who facilitates the ball on our team. It’s definitely an unprecedented situation that I’ve never been a part of.
“But as coach Reid said, we work with who we got, and we just keep it moving. Defense, we always have the pressure on us to stop them, give our offense the ball in good field situation, and get off the field on third down. So, today it was no different.”
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