Travis Kelce Talks 'S--tty F--king Feeling' amid Chiefs' Slim NFL Playoff Bracket Odds

Travis Kelce is unhappy that his inability to step up for the Kansas City Chiefs in a Week 14 loss to the Houston Texans contributed to putting his team at risk of missing the playoffs.

Kelce dropped a fourth-quarter pass from Patrick Mahomes that turned into an interception late in Sunday's loss, which NFL Next Gen Stats reports dropped the Chiefs' playoff odds to just 13 percent.

"Looking at the playoffs, this is a tough reality to be in, especially with how we've always found a way in years past," Kelce said around the 9:50 mark of Wednesday's New Heights episode. "It's a s--tty f--king feeling, especially dropping the f--king ball late in the game like that, when we were on our last f--king chance to make something shake. It's a s--tty feeling, man."

The loss to the Texans marked the first time in Kelce's career he had recorded more drops (two) than receptions (one) in a single game, per ESPN's Nate Taylor.

This wasn't the first time, however, that Kelce has lost a crucial pass late in a Chiefs game this season. The tight end also had a drop that turned into an interception touchdown in the fourth quarter of a Week 2 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Kelce spoke about that Week 2 drop on a Sept. 17 episode of New Heights: "It's just frustrating, man. I've scored on that play a million times in my life... It cost us big time and that hurts. But we'll get it fixed."

After the Week 14 loss, however, Kelce sounded notably less optimistic about his ability to improve down the stretch.

"It's been a tough f--king go-around for the past two days," Kelce said around the 8:45 mark of Wednesday's episode. "It's just, you put all this f--king work in hopes that it pays off, and right now it just, for whatever f--king reason... It's little things. It's discipline.

"I feel like I've always had the answers, in years past, and this year I just can't find them. And I keep thinking, if I show up to work, and I put in the work, and I fix the issues through my practice habits and through perfecting the game plan and my fundamentals and what I'm being taught, and go out there and try and play my ass off for the guys next to me, it's all going to come together like it has in years past. And this year it's just not, man."

The Chiefs' struggles come amid uncertainty regarding the NFL future of Kelce, who is playing this season on an expiring contract. The tight end has previously said he won't consider his plans for 2026 until after the season.

Even if the Chiefs win out to finish the season with a 10-7 record, they need help from other teams in order to sneak back in to the AFC playoff picture.

The team's playoff hopes could be on the line when the team returns to action next Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. Depending on other Week 15 results, Kansas City can be eliminated from postseason contention with a loss.