Travis Kelce Blames Mahomes for Chiefs' Loss in Brutally Honest Take

Travis Kelce threw Patrick Mahomes under the bus with a blunt admission about the Kansas City Chiefs’ controversial loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 8.

Speaking on the Wednesday episode of the New Heights podcast, the All-Pro tight end broke from his quarterback’s public stance on the game-deciding penalty.

The Chiefs had the ball at the goal line in the closing seconds, trailing by four points.

A false start flag pushed them back, and the offense failed to convert on fourth down.

Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid both questioned whether officials should have let the play stand in a high-leverage moment.

Kelce took the opposite position.

“A lot of people are saying this wasn’t a penalty; I’m going to go on record and say that this is definitely a penalty,” Jason Kelce said on the podcast.

Travis agreed with his brother’s assessment.

“Yeah, he flinches,” the Chiefs tight end admitted.

The admission directly contradicts Mahomes’ suggestion that the flag was questionable.

But Kelce did not stop there.

He refused to blame the penalty alone for the 28-24 loss.

“At the end of the day, we still had another play,” Travis said.

“I’ll take my guy Pat Mahomes on the six-yard line with the game on the line; I’ll take that any day of the week.”

“So we gotta execute at the end even more.”

“We can’t let the penalty absolutely deflate us and not let us execute at the end of the game.”

The message was clear: the offense had a chance and failed.

The loss dropped Kansas City to 6-2 on the season.

Denver’s victory snapped a 16-game losing streak against the Chiefs.

Mahomes also faced scrutiny for a separate decision late in the game.

On third-and-goal from the one-yard line, Reid called a handoff to Kenneth Walker III instead of a quarterback sneak.

The play failed, and the Chiefs turned the ball over on downs.

Mahomes addressed that call publicly, adding to the postgame noise.

Kelce, meanwhile, was practicing fully by Thursday.

After being listed as limited on Wednesday, the tight end logged a full practice on Thursday, per CBS Sports.

That clears the way for him to play Sunday against the New York Jets.

Over his last two games, Kelce has nine catches on 15 targets for 111 yards and a touchdown.

He remains the team’s leader in both catches and receiving yards.

But the drama off the field is drawing just as much attention.

Kelce’s willingness to publicly disagree with his quarterback is rare in the NFL.

Star players usually close ranks after a loss, especially one decided by a single play.

Kelce did the opposite.