Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce says the vibes at Arrowhead Stadium have improved since his team lost Super Bowl LIX to the Philadelphia Eagles last February.
“The energy in the building feels a lot more electric. It feels like we’re moving at a pace that we weren’t moving at last year,” Kelce said at the 12:25 mark of Wednesday’s episode of his New Heights podcast with Jason Kelce. “It’s honestly because we’re scoring touchdowns.”
The Chiefs bolstered their receiving depth around Patrick Mahomes last offseason by re-signing JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hollywood Brown and adding Tyquan Thornton to join Kelce, Rashee Rice and second-year wideout Xavier Worthy.
Brown and Rice both missed most of the 2024 season. Now that Rice is back following a suspension, the Chiefs have a full receiving room for the first time in more than a year.
Mahomes has combined with this group to rack up 17 passing touchdowns through Week 8, which is tied with the Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford for the most in the NFL.
“I think, when everybody’s getting a piece of the pie like this— there’s a lot of focus on me, and obviously Rashee, and you’ve got one of the fastest guys in the league, Xavier,” Kelce said in Wednesday’s episode. “And then Hollywood is a big play waiting to me made, and Tyquan is out here making big plays early on, and then all of a sudden Ju-Ju’s wide-ass f–king open in the middle of the field because you forgot about him.”
Kelce, who recorded a career-low 8.5 yards per catch last season, is meanwhile back to averaging 12.8 yards per reception through the first eight weeks of the season.
He’s coming off his most productive game of the season so far after making six catches on eight targets for 99 yards and a touchdown during Monday’s Week 8 win over the visiting Washington Commanders.
The Chiefs will hope their receiving room can continue helping Mahomes find success when the team returns to action with a Sunday night road game against the Buffalo Bills. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. ET at Highmark Stadium.
