A couple weeks ago NBC’s Rodney Harrison questioned the passion of the Kansas City Chiefs. I mostly agreed with him because the Chiefs were losing and something just seemed off with the team. They didn’t look like the same team that started the season 5-0 and now you’re seeing them lose to a one-win team like the Giants. I wondered about the passion too.
One player whose passion I didn’t worry about was TE Travis Kelce. He is an animated player and, to me, it’s obvious he cares a great deal about the team. As Alex Smith threw the game ending interception at the end of Sunday’s game, there was a clip showing Kelce’s reaction to it throwing his hands in the air.
Travis Kelce represents us all. He’s tired of it, too. #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/l66COxe231
— Chase Snyder (@ChasingSnyder) November 26, 2017
Rodney Harrison responded to that clip on NBC’s Football Night in America (via PFT).
“He’s the captain of this team, and this is just absolute terrible effort,” Harrison said. “When things are going great, he’s dancing, he’s partying. But as soon as he hits a little adversity, he pouts. The game is on the line — hustle, get back, you are the captain of this team. If I’m in that locker room, I’d would go to him and say, ‘If you’re going to be captain of the team, you have to be able to lead, and you lead with effort.’ That’s not good enough. . . . Remember last week when I said Kansas City was not playing with passion, that’s exactly what I was talking about.”
If there is one person who I know cares, it’s Travis Kelce. Suggesting that Kelce doesn’t is crazy to me. The Chiefs were out of timeouts. The Bills player shouldn’t have even kept running. The game was over and everyone knew it. How about asking the guy throwing it where he was going with that one? Or did the receiver break the wrong way (my guess is it’s this one)?
Calling Kelce out here is not deserved. The guy has 200-plus yards and a touchdown over the last three weeks which are way better numbers than anyone else on the team. Additionally, I’ve watched every one of Kelce’s games in the NFL and heard most of what he has said off of it and I can assure that guy cares and is passionate. Calling Kelce out is a stretch. (And don’t give me the penalty talk. He had his first penalty in nine weeks last week)