Travis Kelce gave the media the silent treatment on Sunday after the Kansas City Chiefs were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Kelce and co slumped to a 16-13 defeat to divisional rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers, in what had been a do-or-die Week 15 matchup in front of his fiancee Taylor Swift and his family.
The Chiefs needed to best their opponents and rely on other results around league going their way to cling on any slim hope of making the postseason – neither of which went in their favor.
And after Kansas City failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014, Kelce apparently wasn’t in a talkative mood.
The tight end declined to speak to reporters in the locker room following the loss, according to The Athletic’s Jesse Newell.
‘It’s not the time. I’ll catch you guys during the week,’ he reportedly told members of the media.
Travis Kelce reportedly refused to speak to reporters following the Chiefs’ defeat
Kansas City was officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 16-13 loss to the Chargers
Members are the media are permitted in NFL teams’ locker rooms following games to capture the immediate postgame reaction from players.
Sunday wasn’t the first time that Kelce has declined to participate this season. Just last week, he also kept quiet after the Chiefs had fallen 6-7 for the season with a lackluster 20-10 defeat to the Houston Texans.
With three minutes remaining and the Chiefs desperately trying to claw their way back into the game against the Texans, the three-time Super Bowl winner had spilled a pass from Patrick Mahomes that led to an interception.
Furthermore, last month, he also refused to speak to reporters following Kansas City’s defeat to the Denver Broncos that saw them fall to 5-5.
It’s the first time since 2014 that the Chiefs will not be heading to the playoffs – which makes it the first time in Patrick Mahomes’ career that he misses the postseason.
A left knee injury to Mahomes was what ultimately doomed Kansas City from a last-second victory drive.
The quarterback’s knee buckled backwards, leading to the former MVP clutching his leg in pain on the ground.
He needed to be helped off the field by training staff – who aided him down the tunnel to the locker room.
Taylor Swift was one of 73,000 witnesses to the end of this phase of the Chiefs dynasty
Patrick Mahomes went down late in the game with a knee injury which could be serious
Gardner Minshew, the former Raiders starting quarterback, was brought in with one final chance to salvage the season.
He completed three of his first four passes to bring the Chiefs within field goal range – which would have tied the game.
However, Minshew tried uncorking a deep pass intended for Kelce – only to be picked off by Chargers star safety Derwin James to officially kill any hopes of a postseason run.
A kneel-down of the ball officially sealed the loss. But other results confirmed the elimination.