Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce let his emotions spill over on the sideline during his team’s upset 20-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Kelce was caught by cameras angrily slamming his helmet to the ground on the Chiefs sideline during the first half, and had to be calmed down by coach Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes.
Kelce’s outburst, which happened as girlfriend Taylor Swift spent Christmas watching on in a luxury suite at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, occurred after the Raiders scored two defensive touchdowns in seven seconds late in the first half.
The tight end has had a quiet season by his lofty standards, only going over 100 receiving yards twice. Kelce hasn’t reached that mark in over two months.
He had five catches for 44 yards against the Raiders, and is in danger of not reaching 1000 yards for the season, which would be the first time since 2015.
While Kelce’s mini-tantrum was the most jarring, he wasn’t the only frustrated Chiefs player, with Mahomes not hiding his emotions either, appearing on the verge of tears at the end of the game.
The listless performance against the Raiders is the Chiefs’ fourth loss in six games, with the defending champions stuck in an offensive rut just two weeks out from the start of the postseason.
You could argue that Mahomes and the Chiefs offense has been down all season, and while that may be right, the play of the Kansas City pass catchers and the offensive line has been particularly poor over the past six weeks.
In fact, if it wasn’t for Kansas City’s defence, the Chiefs would be battling to make the playoffs.
After beginning the season 7-2, the Chiefs have recently lost to the Raiders and Packers, two teams with losing records.
Adding salt into the wounds was Raiders cornerback Jack Jones talking trash towards and giving Mahomes an epic staredown as he returned one of the quarterback’s passes for a defensive touchdown in the first half to extend the lead to 17-7.
Incredibly, the Raiders managed to win despite not completing a pass in the second half.
Second year running back Zamir White enjoyed the best game of his career, rushing for 145 yards, including the game-sealing 43 yard run with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter.
At 7-8, the Raiders have won their past two games to still have a faint shot left of progressing to the postseason, however they’ll have to win their last two and get a bit of help.