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Stephen A. Smith didn’t mince words when discussing Travis Kelce’s slow start to the NFL season. On Monday, the ESPN personality blasted the Kansas City Chiefs tight end for his underwhelming performance in Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals – insisting that his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, made more appearances during the game.
Through the first two games of the season, Kelce has reeled in just four catches for 39 yards and no touchdowns. Against the Bengals, he only managed one reception for five yards, additionally recording a single rushing carry for one yard.
The disappointing offensive output is hardly what the Chiefs and their fans have come to expect from Kelce, who’s solidified himself as one of the best tight ends in the league over a decorated 11-season career. It was only recently that the 34-year-old reached another level of fame, however, after he and Swift started dating last year.
On the latest episode of ESPN’s ‘First Take,’ Smith couldn’t help but poke fun at Kelce’s relationship with the pop icon, who’s become a staple at Chiefs games and is frequently shown on broadcasts cheering her boyfriend on from a suite.
“I love my brother from another mother, Travis Kelce. We saw more Taylor Swift than we saw Travis Kelce yesterday on a Sunday afternoon, and any other time that’s applicable. That ain’t supposed to happen yesterday,” Smith began.
“We supposed to see more Travis Kelce yesterday than we saw her. That’s not happening. You got to get it going, bro. You got 39 receiving yards in the first two games. Come on now, it’s time. Football season is here. Honeymoon’s over. Let’s handle our business.”
While the Chiefs are a perfect 2-0 this season after nail-biting victories over the Baltimore Ravens and Bengals, Smith asserted that the lackluster offensive performance from Sunday’s 26-25 win over Cincinnati is unacceptable. “You look at Travis Kelce. You look at [wide receiver] Xavier Worthy. You’re talking about three receptions for 22 yards and they managed to win this game,” he continued.
“You’re not supposed to win that game when something like that happens for you on the offensive side of the ball. By the way, [quarterback] Patrick Mahomes – the Michael Jordan of this sport – got 17th in QBR over the first two games of the season. He has not been spectacular. So I’m looking at all of those different things and I’m saying, ‘Something’s got to give.’ Make no mistake about that.”
Addressing Kelce’s lack of production, Mahomes attributed his favorite target’s struggles to strong play from opposing defenses. “They’re doing a great job of just kind of having two people for him pretty much the entire game,” he told reporters on Sunday.
“That’s why you’ve seen guys like Rashee [Rice] and [Xavier] – I mean, if you look at the first touchdown, I’m actually looking at Trav and the backside safety goes all the way across the field to help guard Travis, and then you throw the ball down the sideline to Rashee, and that’s kind of what they’ve been doing.”
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