Travis Kelce: 'Wasn't the Best Leader That I Could Be' in Super Bowl Loss to Eagles

Travis Kelce is shouldering some of the blame for the Kansas City Chiefs' 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59.

On the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, Kelce said he "wasn't the best leader that I could be" in the game to keep his teammates "calm, cool, collected" when things started to spiral out of control.

It's hard to know what anyone might have been able to do for the Chiefs to stop the snowball from rolling down the hill. The game was really only competitive into the second quarter, but after A.J. Brown's touchdown catch late in the first half made it 24-0, there didn't seem to be much of a path for Kansas City.

The Eagles were manhandling the Chiefs in the trenches on both sides of the ball. They sacked Patrick Mahomes six times, his most in a single game in his NFL career during the regular season or playoffs.

Mahomes threw a pick-six to Cooper DeJean midway through the second quarter that was as bad a pass as he has attempted in his pro career.

Kelce hasn't made any decisions about his playing future right now, but he struggled to make any sort of impact in the past two playoff games. He combined for a total of 58 yards on six receptions between the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl.

There are still glimmers of the player Kelce was at his peak. He had a season-high 117 receiving yards and one touchdown in the AFC Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans.

After Rashee Rice suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4, the Chiefs really struggled to find a reliable receiving option for Mahomes. They tried to patch things together by acquiring DeAndre Hopkins and getting Marquise Brown back from a shoulder injury.

Xavier Worthy did flash a lot of promise as a rookie, including racking up 157 yards and two touchdowns against the Eagles. He might enter 2025 as the No. 1 option for Mahomes, but it's clear from Kansas City's performance throughout this season that some changes need to be made.

Despite finishing tied with the Detroit Lions for most wins in the NFL this season (15-2), the Chiefs had just the 11th-best scoring differential at plus-59. They were getting by with a lot of smoke and mirrors for a long time before things came crashing down on the biggest stage in the sport.