Travis Kelce had this advice for Chiefs teammates ahead of AFC Championship vs. Bills
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is making his seventh straight AFC Championship Game appearance, which gives him lots of experience in high-pressure situations.
So what has he told younger teammates about how to approach Sunday’s home game against the Buffalo Bills — with a trip to Super Bowl LIX on the line?
“Just don’t let the lights blind you,” Kelce said during Friday’s news conference at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. “It’s a big moment. You’re going to hype it up yourself, because you’ve been dreaming about moments like these. The biggest thing is you’re good enough. You don’t got to be anybody that you’re not.”
Kelce, 35, continued a run of outstanding postseason games in last week’s home playoff win against Houston. The tight end had seven catches for 117 yards with a touchdown, while also going over 70 receiving yards for his 14th straight postseason contest.
An extended break might’ve helped. Kelce had more than three weeks to rest his body after the Chiefs clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed on Christmas Day against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Perhaps as a result, Kelce broke two tackles against Houston on a 49-yard catch after forcing just three missed tackles all regular season, according to Pro Football Focus.
“When I’m out there, I’m running at full speed,” Kelce said, when asked how his body felt last week. “But I guess some of the broken tackles, you could say I had some more fresh legs than typical.”
Kelce said he believed the playoffs — and the energy that comes with it — helps bring the Chiefs’ locker room even closer together. That was even the case during the team’s recent bye week, when Kelce could sense that “everybody’s working their tail off, leading to these big moments and these big games.”
Another admission: Kelce said he’d been looking forward to January for a while.
“I was joking with everybody: I was wishing the season would just fast forward when we were in November,” Kelce said. “Man, I wanted to start playing meaningful competition.”
Now, that moment is here, with Kelce looking to show once again he can deliver in the biggest moments.
Even if he doesn’t have the speed — or tackle-breaking ability — that he once did.
“As long as I go out there and we’re winning, baby,” Kelce said, “that’s all that matters.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 3:40 PM.
