With his nine-figure New Heights podcast, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce already has the most lucrative career in sports media. When he retires (most likely after the current season, but who knows?), Kelce likely will be able to name his price for a spot on a pregame show or in a broadcast booth (if he wants either).
The reality that Kelce is currently in the media (and will inevitably have an expanded media presence) isn’t prompting him to help others currently in the media to do their jobs.
Via Jesse Newell of TheAthletic.com, Kelce declined multiple interview requests after Sunday night’s 20-10 loss to the Texans.
All players (except those in the concussion protocol) are required by the NFL to speak to reporters after every game.
It’s not the first time Kelce has declined to talk this year, either after a game or during the week. (All players must be available once during the days preceding each game, at a podium or in the locker room.)
Players have been fined in the past, if/when the failure to comply with media obligations becomes chronic, and if the media covering the team complains about it. Sometimes, the media doesn’t make waves.
Kelce is a first-ball Hall of Famer. He has, in the past, been extremely cooperative with media requests. Apparently poised to retire if the Chiefs had won Super Bowl LIX, he decided to return for another year after the Chiefs fell short. His quotes after games, especially after a loss that could be the final nail in the coffin of the Chiefs’ season, would be interesting and potentially revealing.
The rule applies to all players. While it’s an insult to the reporters covering the game for any player to not speak to them, it’s also a slap at teammates who face the music after all games — good, bad, or ugly.
Tight end Brevin Jordan won’t be available to help the Texans’ playoff push in the coming weeks, but he is set to be back with the team in 2026.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Jordan has agreed to a one-year contract extension with the team. Jordan was a 2021 fifth-round pick and he signed a one-year extension to his rookie deal last December.
Jordan was recovering from a torn ACL when he signed the previous extension and he suffered another season-ending knee injury while practicing with the team this summer.
Jordan has 53 catches for 532 yards and five touchdowns in 36 career regular season games. He also caught a 76-yard touchdown pass in the 2023 playoffs.
With the score tied 10-10 in the fourth quarter on Sunday night, Chiefs coach Andy Reid decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Chiefs’ own 31-yard line. Patrick Mahomes’ pass was incomplete, and the Texans took over in great field position and promptly scored a touchdown to give them a lead they’d never relinquish.
“I take full responsibility for that,” Reid said after the game.
Asked more about the decision, Reid didn’t say much other than that he wished he had chosen differently.
“I thought we could get it,” Reid said. “I was confident we could do that. It’s important to take advantage of opportunities and I thought it was an opportunity. I was wrong in hindsight. I was wrong. We’ve been pretty good on fourth downs. I messed that one up.”
In a season when much has gone wrong for the Chiefs, there’s plenty of opportunity for hindsight. It’s been the kind of year in Kansas City when they can’t get a yard when they need it.
The Texans are coming.
The Chiefs are going to need some help if they’re going to make the postseason.
Houston’s defense made all the stops required to beat the three-time defending AFC Champions and, in all likelihood, knock Kansas City out of postseason contention with a 20-10 victory.
On what ended up being the biggest play of the game, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the team’s own 31-yard line with the game tied and 10:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.
But quarterback Patrick Mahomes was pressured immediately, and his pass to Rashee Rice had no chance, falling incomplete.
On a short ensuing drive, the Texans got in the end zone with Dare Ogunbowale’s first touchdown since 2022 to go ahead 17-10.
The Chiefs had another opportunity to go for it on fourth down and again didn’t make it, with Mahomes’ pass to Rice again falling incomplete.
The last chance for Kansas City came with just under four minutes left in the contest, with another turnover effectively ending any chance the club had at tying things up. Mahomes’ first pass of the possession was dropped by Travis Kelce for an incomplete pass. Then Mahomes’ next throw was a little behind Kelce, who bobbled it. When the ball when behind Kelce, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair intercepted the pass for a back-breaking takeaway.
Ka’imi Fairbairn hit a 28-yard field goal with 30 seconds in the contest to produce the final margin.
Giving the Texans short fields negated what had been a dominant second-half defensive performance for the Chiefs. Kansas City had forced five consecutive punts to start the second half, four of which were three-and-out. That’s part of what made Reid’s choice to go for it on fourth-and-1 so questionable.
But C.J. Stroud and the Texans were able to do what they needed to do to win. Quarterback C.J. Stroud was 15-of-31 for 203 yards with a touchdown. Nico Collins had four catches for 121 yards — all of which came in the first half.
On the other side, Mahomes finished 14-of-33 for 160 yards with three interceptions. He was also the Chiefs’ leading rusher with 59 yards on seven carries.
Mahomes’ 19.8 passer rating was, by far, the lowest of his career, with his previous low being a 44.4 mark in last year’s win over San Francisco. As noted by Greg Auman of FOX Sports, Mahomes had never finished with zero passing touchdowns, multiple interceptions, and a completion rate under 50 percent in his career.
Kelce finished with just one catch for 8 yards on five targets. Xavier Worthy had three catches for 55 yards. Rice finished with four receptions for 34 yards.
With the win, the Texans move to 8-5 and are currently the No. 7 seed in the AFC based on their head-to-head win over the Colts. Next week, the Texans will host the 3-10 Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.
Now at 6-7, the Chiefs have been eliminated from the divisional race after winning nine consecutive AFC West titles — a streak that started two years before Mahomes became Kansas City’s starting QB. While the Chiefs have not been eliminated from the postseason, they are currently No. 10 in the conference and would likely have to jump several teams they’ve lost to in order to make the postseason.
Kansas City will be at home to face the Chargers in Week 15.
Sometimes go-ahead touchdowns come from unlikely sources.
The Texans capitalized on getting the ball in Chiefs territory following a questionable — at best — fourth-down decision by Andy Reid with a 5-yard touchdown by running back Dare Ogunbowale.
Houston had not scored since 9:24 in the second quarter and was struggling mightily against Kansas City’s aggressive defense in the second half. But Reid elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Chiefs’ own 31-yard line instead of punt. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was pressured right away and fired an incomplete pass over the middle to Rashee Rice.
After that, the Texans were able to take advantage of the great field position to take a seven-point lead.
Woody Marks was shaken up on an 8-yard run down to Kansas City’s 5-yard line. With Nick Chubb already ruled out with a rib injury, that left Dare Ogunbowale to handle the running duties, which he did to the tune of his first touchdown run since 2022.
Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie has also been downgraded to out with a knee injury.
