Patrick Mahomes says winning games remains top priority, confident Travis Kelce 'will eat' despite slow start
The star tight end acknowledged that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is throwing the ball to whoever is open at the time and that everyone is focused on winning.
There is no question Travis Kelce is Patrick Mahomes' favorite target.
Over the past few seasons, the tight end and quarterback duo have become one of the most prolific tandems in the NFL. From 2016-22, Kelce recorded no less than 1,000 receiving yards in each season. Mahomes was drafted in 2017 and became a full-time starter in 2018.
However, Kelce's production over the first few games of the 2024 season has become a topic of conversation in the sports world. The star tight end enters Week 4 with a total of 69 receiving yards.
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Kelce recently addressed his slow start, saying winning games was his top priority.
"I've had a lot of catches in this league, man," Kelce said on the latest episode of the "New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce" podcast. "I'm not worried about the catches and the yards and all of that. I have the most fun when the ball is thrown my way. Who doesn't? But it has everything to do with execution and making sure we're doing whatever we can to win these football games, man. That's always going to be the goal."
On Wednesday, Mahomes weighed in on Kelce's production thus far.
"I feel like I want to give him the ball more, whereas he’s just like, ‘I just want to win, man. I don’t care, I’ll run these routes and take guys with me so that other guys can get open,’" the quarterback told reporters.
"We understand he’s an important part of this offense, and we want to make sure that we’re still featuring him, but at the same time, if defenses are going to take away him, I’ll feed the ball to other guys and let them make plays. As the season goes on, if we continue to show that we’re going to throw it to Rashee [Rice] and we’re going to throw it to these other guys, and they’re going to make plays, teams are going to have to do those one-on-one matchups and that’s when Travis will eat."
Rashee Rice's second NFL season has gotten off to a strong start. The former SMU standout has two touchdown receptions and has racked up 288 receiving yards so far this year.
Mahomes also praised Kelce for his leadership and his commitment to do whatever is necessary for the Chiefs to win each and every week.
"If we’re winning, he’s good with just going out there and playing hard, blocking, doing whatever he can to impact the game," Mahomes said.
"Whenever we‘re winning games like this, that’s everybody, man. You just want to win at the end of the day. He’s doing a great job of being a leader on the team, playing hard, doing whatever he can to make an impact in the game. When you do that in this league, usually good things come, and I’m excited for him to go out there and make an impact receiving the ball as well."
The Chiefs' offense was largely pedestrian through the 2023 campaign, as the team worked through some issues with its wide receiver group. However, Kelce's production increased once the playoffs kicked off. He finished the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens with 116 receiving yards.
Kelce has also had success against the Chiefs' next opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, over the course of his career.
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