"He needs to retire," "Dude is a baby": Travis Kelce grilled by fans for seemingly looking to blame costly drop in endzone during Chiefs-Eagles clash

The Kansas City Chiefs for a second consecutive game as they were edged 20-17 by the Philadelphia Eagles in February's Super Bowl rematch on Sunday. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been in the news after his costly play in the contest.

The Eagles took the lead after Saquon Barkley's 13-yard run in the first quarter. However, the Chiefs came back in the second quarter, as Patrick Mahomes made it 10-7 for Kansas City after a touchdown.

Later in the fourth quarter, Mahomes threatened to increase the Chiefs' advantage as he lined up a pass for Travis Kelce just in front of the end zone. However, Kelce fumbled the catch and deflected it to Eagles defensive back Andrew Mukuba, who set up the Eagles for a decisive touchdown.

The Chiefs tight end had his hands in the air, seemingly blaming Mahomes for the pass.

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Kelce's antics didn't sit well with the fans on social media.

"Anyone but himself, dude is a baby in the face of any adversity."

"It’s never him always someone else’s fault 😂"

"Probably wondering why the ref didn’t throw his scheduled flag."

However, several fans defended the Chiefs star.

"Seems like he did it more out of surprise."

"Don’t know if he was 100% confident ball was coming to him or not."

"I think it was more of 'What the f*** did I just do' type of thing."

Patrick Mahomes takes blame for Travis Kelce's costly interception in Eagles loss

Travis Kelce's fumble proved to be a costly mistake as the Eagles scored on the next drive and held on for a 20-17 win in a tight game. While the fans flamed Kelce for his fumble, Patrick Mahomes took the blame for the interception.

"I just threw it a tad too early," Mahomes said. "Just trying to put it on his body low before that hole player got there. I think if I can put it more on his body, and not so far out in front of him, then he can catch it, take the hit, and get in the end zone.

"You wanna put it low, just more on his body. Whenever you're in those tight quarters like that you wanna give it to them, especially a bigger guy, more on his body where he can catch it [and] brace for that contact."

The Chiefs have their backs against the wall after going 0-2 to start the season but coach Andy Reid is backing his players, especially Travis Kelce, after the Week 2 loss against the Eagles.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Chiefs Fans! Check out the latest Kansas City Chiefs Schedule and dive into the Chiefs Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash