After the Kansas City Chiefs’ recent loss to the Houston Texans, their fourth in five games, Travis Kelce had the look of a man who knew the end was near.
When media members were let into the Chiefs locker room following the 20-10 loss on Sunday, December 7, the space was already sparsely filled, according to the Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell.
But Kelce, 36, was there, standing in the center “picking at his fingernails.”
“Travis Kelce stayed there for more than 15 minutes, his hands running over his hair, then plastered to his head, one on each side, as he stared down at the carpet,” McDowell wrote on Monday, December 8.
Kelce declined multiple requests for an interview after the game, the second time this season the tight end has refused to talk to the media following a loss.
The Chiefs currently find themselves with just an 11 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Kelce, who contemplated retirement last offseason, will be faced with the same dilemma after this season comes to a close, whenever that may be.
Kansas City currently has four games left on their schedule. In order to make the postseason, they will need to win all four games and get some major help from the teams ahead of them in the AFC playoff picture.
Kelce wasn’t the only member of the Chiefs struggling to accept their startling fate after the loss to Houston.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was seen in the locker room “with a towel over his head, intentionally covering his face,” according to McDowell.
He also observed Chiefs safety Bryan Cook “on the floor, silent and still, shirt off, staring forward but toward nothing in particular.”
Two seats away from Cook, tight end Noah Gray “hadn’t yet removed his red jersey top or white pants.”
After pulling himself together, Mahomes, 30, spoke to the media on Sunday and addressed the unprecedented uphill battle currently facing his team.
“We know the chances are getting lower and lower, but I know the guys on this team are going to give everything they have, every opportunity we get,” Mahomes told reporters.
Mahomes added, “We’re not winning games, but that mindset the guys have in this locker room, in the games we’re not winning, you can never question the fight of this team. Obviously, we’re not executing at the right moments and we’re not making those plays, but at the end of the day you can never question that, and I think you’ll see that these last four weeks.”
The Chiefs head coach, Andy Reid, spoke to the media via Zoom on Monday and acknowledged his players were downtrodden after the Texans loss — but vowed to push ahead in the face of adversity.
“I have learned over the years that anything’s possible,” Reid, 67, said. “So, I communicated that to the guys. They were down in the dumps after [Sunday’s] game. I mean, they put their heart and soul into that thing, and we came up short. But, at the same time, there’s a way you’ve got to pick yourself up and get yourself going again. And hope is always a good motivator there.”
The Chiefs return to action on Sunday, December 14, when they host the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium.
From there, the Chiefs finish the season with games on the road against the Tennessee Titans, who are tied for the worst record in the NFL, the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos and a regular season finale in Las Vegas against the Raiders on January 4.
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