KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If Thursday night’s game was the last one Travis Kelce played at Arrowhead Stadium, he sure tried to make it memorable.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end had only five catches for 36 yards against the Denver Broncos playing alongside third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun while starter Patrick Mahomes and backup Gardner Minshew were out with knee injuries. But several of those catches came in the closing minutes, nearly rallying the Chiefs to what would have been a stunning upset of the Broncos.
Kelce & Co. wound up losing 20-13 in a game in which they were nearly two-touchdown underdogs. But it was a gutsy display by Kelce in a career filled with them.
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The four-time All-Pro, who is expected to announce soon after the season whether he is retiring, could have hung up the cleats a couple of weeks ago, when the reigning AFC champions were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in a decade.
After going to five Super Bowls — including the past three — and winning three championship rings, the 36-year-old Kelce instead showed he had too much pride to quit on a lost season. He played in a humiliating loss at the lowly Tennessee Titans last week and was one of the few bright spots on Christmas for an offense that finished with 139 yards.
“A whole lot of emotions,” Kelce said afterward. “You’ve got everybody in the world watching you. You get to go out there with the young guys on prime-time television. Young guys getting an opportunity to taste what this NFL life is like.”
As for retirement?
“I’ll let that be a decision I’ll make with my family, friends, the Chiefs organization when the time comes,” Kelce said.
He was the final player introduced Thursday night, following Oladokun out of the tunnel. As red lights flashed across the field, Kelce emerged from the fog with his signature bow-and-arrow entrance gesture toward a festive holiday crowd, and fans predictably roared in delight — perhaps for the last time — as No. 87 took the field.
“You only get a few of those [occasions] where you get to stand there and appreciate [60,000], 70,000 Chiefs fans cheering for you,” Kelce said. “I always embrace that moment.”
Travis Kelce has caught 645 passes at Arrowhead Stadium, including the playoffs, which the third most by any player inside a single stadium since the AFL-NFL merger. AP Photo/Ed Zurga
In a suite high above, his fiancée, pop star Taylor Swift, watched him perform. So did Mahomes and Minshew, who took in the game together from a suite. Mahomes sustained torn knee ligaments two weeks ago; Minshew did the same last week.
“You feel the generations of happiness and the love that [the fans] have,” Kelce said. “It’s a beautiful thing, man. It’s something I know I’ll cherish forever, whether it’s coming out of the tunnel or just making a big play for them. That’s why we love Arrowhead.”
Kelce has played 97 games inside the stadium over the course of a 13-year career. He has caught 645 passes at Arrowhead, including the playoffs, which is the third most by any player at a single facility (behind Jerry Rice and Larry Fitzgerald) since the AFL-NFL merger.
Now, the question is whether Kelce will play next week in the Chiefs’ season finale at the Las Vegas Raiders.
He needs just 10 yards receiving to reach 13,000 for his career, and he could extend his franchise record — and the longest active streak in the NFL — by catching a pass in his 191st game next weekend. He also could go out with a win, rather than having lost five straight and seven of his past eight games.
Or maybe Kelce will surprise everyone and come back for one more campaign.
“We’ve been through so much together,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said, making his desire clear. “Just one more [season]. Just one more.”
