Travis Kelce Doesn’t Care About His Bad NFL Stats — But He Will Talk About It: See His Best Quotes

Travis Kelce is one of the greatest NFL tight ends in history, but his slow start to the 2024-2025 season has fans talking — and criticizing.

“For whatever reason, these past two games it hasn’t gone that way for me,” Kelce said during the September 18 episode of his “New Heights” podcast. “That’s football, man. I’m not about to sit here and get frustrated about it.”

The Kansas City Chiefs player confessed, “I used to get really, really pissed off and almost lose my cool a lot of the time from not having that success knowing I demand that out of myself. I just like to play the game to such a high level of accountability that it’s tough for me to deal with me being mediocre or having stats that represent that.”

During the Chiefs first two games of the season, Kelce caught just three passes for a total of 39 yards and zero touchdowns. While the Chiefs won their first four games, Kelce didn’t get a touchdown in any. His total receptions for the month of September were 15 for 158 yards.

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“[I was] struggling in terms of stats,” Kelce revealed during the September 25 “New Heights” episode. “I was still playing winning football, and that’s all that f---ing matters.”

Scroll down for everything Kelce has said about his poor stats this season:

He Doesn’t Care About the Numbers

“I stopped caring about stats about four or five years ago,” the NFL player said on his podcast on September 18. “I just went out there and started to play free and play for my guys. Sure enough, I think that’s the better mentality. You think about it more play by play and what your job is on that specific play.”

Catching Game Is on Point

"I've had a lot of catches in this league, man. I'm not worried about the catches and the yards and all that,” the three-time Super Bowl champion told his podcast listeners on September 25. “I have the most fun when the ball is thrown my way, who doesn’t? It has everything to do with execution, just making sure we’re doing whatever we can to win these football games, man. That’s always going to be the goal.”

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His ‘Own Worst Critic’

Kelce fans are used to the tight end putting up 1,000-yard seasons, but so far that’s not the case for the 2024-2025 season. "I think this year stats may say something different, but at the same time you'll see the same person inside this building, and that's all I really care about,'' the athlete told reporters on September 28, according to ESPN. "I'm my own worst critic. Everything outside of this building is just noise.

Spreading the Ball Around

"I'm fortunate. I've had the success in the past and I realized that the ball can't always go to one person. It can't always get in my hands, but at the same time, I got all the trust in [my quarterback Patrick Mahomes] to make the right decision, and he's been making great decisions,” Kelce said on September 28 ahead of the Chiefs’ matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers via Sports Illustrated. “We might not be putting up as [many] points as we want to, but at the same time we're 3-0 and we're doing something right.''

Being Accountable

Kelce had seven catches for 89 yards in the Chiefs victory over the Chargers on September 29, which he called a “solid game,” even if fans want to see him in the end zone.

“I was accountable this game. I didn’t have any drops — which was what happened in Atlanta to make me feel like I had a bad game, but I still didn’t have an outstanding game,” he told his brother and “New Heights” cohost, Jason Kelce, during the October 2 episode of their show. “There’s a lot that goes into having a great game.”

It wasn’t his best performance to date, but Travis noted, “I helped my team find a way to win, and that is all that will ever matter.”

Stats Aren’t for Losers — Or Are They?

After sharing a quote from Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris in which he claimed, “Stats are for losers,” Travis and Jason weighed in on the topic.

“I don’t think they’re for losers. I think when you’re getting good stats, you’re helping your team win,” Travis explained during the October 2 episode of the brothers’ podcast. “When you do it at a consistent level and you’re scoring touchdowns and you’re winning football games, they do matter.”

On the other hand, Travis said he understood Morris’ outlook, noting, “It’s a part of my philosophy and not being upset that I’m not getting bukoo stats this year. It’s about winning the football game. … If you care enough about stats for it to change your day then that’s when you don’t have a winning mentality.”

Jason was adamant that stats are for losers, explaining that for him the only points that matter are the ones on the scoreboard. “You’re not counting the stats, you’re just counting the points,” Travis said in agreement. “I’m with that mentality. At the same time, when you get the ball in the end zone you’re getting the stats. It is what it is.”