Travis Kelce struggled to mask his devastation as the Kansas City Chiefs suffered a crushing 40-22 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at New Orleans last night.
The Chiefs tight end was captured by cameras looking distraught after the loss, which ended their hopes of making history with a third consecutive Super Bowl victory.
Speaking to reporters pitch side after the game, Kelce acknowledged there were "a lot of things going wrong" for the Chiefs during the match.
Head coach Andy Reid offered words of wisdom to his team in the immediate aftermath of the defeat.
Travis Kelce struggled to mask his devastation as the Kansas City Chiefs suffered a crushing 40-22 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at New Orleans last night
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Kelce revealed Reid's advice to reporters, quoting his coach as saying: "This ones gonna hurt. Let it hurt and figure it out and figure out how to get better because of it."
The tight end acknowledged the truth in Reid's words, confirming the loss would indeed "hurt", whilst also showing respect to their opponents.
"Hats off to the Eagles, man. They got after us. All three phases," he said.
Kelce delivered a frank assessment of the Chiefs' performance, suggesting the loss wasn't down to a single mistake.
Instead, he described it as "accumulative of everything" that went wrong during the game.
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Travis Kelce has admitted the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl defeat will 'hurt' him
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"Wouldn't get it going offensively," Kelce explained. "They just got after us on all three phases and then on top of that, turnovers, penalties, playing behind the sticks on offense is just dropped passes, not taking advantage of the play call and executing them."
"You don't lose like that without everything going bad," he added.
In a stark admission, Kelce revealed the team "haven't played that bad all year."
His assessment highlighted multiple failures across the game, from turnovers and penalties to dropped passes and poor execution.
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The defeat was particularly bitter for the Chiefs, who had entered the game with hopes of securing their third consecutive Super Bowl victory.
The comprehensive nature of their defeat left no room for excuses, with Kelce emphasising how every aspect of their game had fallen short.
Reid echoed Kelce's assessment in his own post-game interview, admitting: "We didn't really play well in any of the phases. We didn't coach good enough. They did a nice job."
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Despite the disappointing performance, the head coach remained supportive of his team's efforts throughout the season.
"I'm proud of the fight they put in throughout the year, and all of the games they've played here over the last few years," Reid said.
He emphasised the importance of learning from the defeat, both for coaches and players alike.
Amid speculation about Kelce's future, quarterback Patrick Mahomes backed his teammate to continue playing.
Travis Kelce has opened up on what Andy Reid said to his Kansas City Chiefs players following their Super Bowl defeat
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"He's given so much to this team and to the NFL and been such a joy, not only for me to work with but for people to," Mahomes said.
"He knows he still has a lot of football left in him. You can see it.
"I know he still has a love for the game. He'll get to spend some time with his family and make that decision on his own."
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