Travis Kelce experiencing bumpy ride as Chiefs seek to make history

In the Super Bowl against the Eagles two years ago, Kelce caught all six of his targets for 81 yards and a touchdown.

“(Eagles cornerback Darius) Slay is really the only familiar face that I can remember,” Kelce said. “(Reed) Blankenship, we’ve played him before. For the most part, they’ve got a lot of new faces. They play very, very well together on the back end, so this could be a huge challenge for us.”

The Chiefs are seeking to make history as the first team to win three consecutive titles in the Super Bowl era. It’s been a bumpy road as they went 15-2, but had to pull out 11 one-score games along the way.

The offensive line was in a state of flux, and they lost running back Isaiah Pacheco for most of the season.

“I think every year you’re going to get hit with new challenges,” Kelce said. “This year we got hit with having to pick some guys up and figure it out on the run.”

One of the pickups was running back Kareem Hunt, who had formerly played for the Chiefs in 2017 and 2018. With Pacheco down, Hunt took over at running back and had 200 carries, 728 yards and seven touchdowns.

Through all of the changes, Kelce getting open for quarterback Patrick Mahomes remained a constant for the Chiefs.

“What stayed true was coach (Andy) Reid’s message that we’re the best team in the league,” Kelce said. “We owned up to that. We also got help from those new faces who have really molded and made their imprint on this team.”

Another difference for Kelce is that his brother, Jason Kelce, Eagles former center, has retired.

“They are a lot bigger up front,” Kelce said. “They don’t have little small center (Jason Kelce) anymore. They’ve got really good players in the secondary that we didn’t see the first-time around.”

The Chiefs have a big following in Mexico. One of the reporters wanted to know if Kelce was a burrito or a taco guy.

“They are the same thing in my book,” Kelce said.

Like former Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, who will be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in August and former Falcons and Chiefs great Tony Gonzalez, Kelce has some basketball in his background.

He played at Cleveland Heights High before going on to start in football at University of Cincinnati.

“Brian Burdine, Coach B, I would say that he taught just to love what I do,” Kelce said. “At that age, he was my basketball coach. At that age, it understanding what you have and trying to find a desire and love for something if you want to take it to the next level.”

Kelce is a part of the group that holds workouts with some of the younger NFL tight ends in the offseason.

“It’s almost a duty and responsibility to pass along the knowledge that I’ve gained,” Kelce said. “It’s been an educational experience for me as well. Getting around the younger guys, seeing how their mind’s work. It just keeps everything new. I love being a mentor and just being a help to anybody in life, on the football field or off. That’s all I know.”

Former New England tight end Rob Gronkowski sees a lot of comparisons between the Chiefs and his former Patriots teams.

“The comparison between the two teams is that they are well coached,” said Gronkowski, who’s an analyst with Fox Sports. “We got unbelievable quarterbacks. Great tight ends. A great defensive tackle, Chris Jones and Vince Wilfork. They’ve got stability and are well coached.

“Don’t make mistakes. Very good in situational football. They know how to get it done when it comes down to crunch time. Especially with two minutes left. That’s why the Kansas City Chiefs are where they are.”

The Eagles are standing in the way of history.

“We just come to work,” Kelce said. “Come in the building and figure things out. Be accountable to the person next to us. We are very selfless in that regard.

“We have to find a way to figure out things whatever that might be, in the run game or the pass game. Whatever the defense is, we’re locked to try to figure that out.”