NEED TO KNOW
- Patrick Mahomes says he’s “trying to cherish” every moment with Travis Kelce in what may be his last NFL season
- The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback made the comments after the team’s 20-10 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday night, as the team’s chances of making the NFL Playoffs dwindle
- The longtime Chiefs teammates face the possibility of missing the NFL Playoffs for the first time since they began playing together in 2017
Patrick Mahomes says he’s trying “to cherish” every moment with longtime teammate Travis Kelce amid what may be the tight end’s final NFL season.
Following the Kansas City Chiefs’ crushing 20-10 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday, Dec. 7, a morose Mahomes, 30, spoke frankly about the possibility that the team may miss the NFL playoffs this season and that he may be playing his final games with Kelce, 36.
“Every season I’ve had with him these last few years, I try to cherish because you never know [if this will be Kelce’s last season],” Mahomes said after Sunday night’s loss, which dropped the Chiefs to 6-7, eliminating them from the possibility of winning the AFC West for a 10th-straight season and making it an even longer shot to make the playoffs through a wild card berth.
“He got himself in great shape this year and he’s played great football,” Mahomes said about his longtime teammate after the game. “He’ll have the option to do whatever he wants to do after this season, but I know one thing: He’ll give everything he has for the rest of this season to try to give us a chance to make a playoff run. We know the chances are getting lower and lower.”
The Chiefs now just have a 15% chance at making the playoffs, according to NFL.com. ESPN has the Chiefs’ chances even lower, at 12%.
Kansas City would likely need to win the rest of their regular season games while also needing the Los Angeles Charges and Indianapolis Colts to lose multiple games in order for them to squeak into the playoffs.
“You’re just getting late in the season, and you’re not going to get these opportunities back,” Mahomes said after Sunday’s loss to the Texans. “That’s a good team, but we had chances. We didn’t execute at the right time to win it.”
Mahomes added: “We’ve been close all season. You’ve got to go out there and make it happen.”
“We just have to execute at a higher level in those big moments,” the quarterback said. “It’s something we haven’t done this year.”
Mahomes and Kelce have played alongside one another since 2017, when the quarterback was drafted by the Chiefs and joined the team’s longtime tight end on offense. Together, the duo has spearheaded one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the NFL, winning three Super Bowls and appearing in five of the last six — a stretch that lives among the most dominant runs in American sports history.
Despite their longshot odds in what may be a make-or-break season for Kelce, the Chiefs are still aware they have a chance.
“We can control how we finish the season,” defensive lineman Chris Jones also said after Sunday night’s game. “God willing, we’re going to find a way to get into the playoffs. We still got an opportunity, man, even though it’s slim. For us, the door is still open.”
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