Travis Kelce, Chiefs best brother Jason, Eagles
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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Super Bowl confetti rained down on the hugging Kelce brothers before Travis was off to celebrate and Jason was left to consider his future.
The final day of two weeks’ worth of buildup about the “Kelce Bowl” started with mother Donna Kelce on the field wearing a half-and-half jersey and one shoe colored for each of her opposing sons during the pregame activities and ended with her separately rejoicing with younger Travis and consoling the older Jason on the field after the Chiefs beat the Eagles, 38-35, in Super Bowl 2023 at State Farm Field.
“There’s nothing you can really say to a loved one in a situation like that,” Travis said, his voice cracking, when asked what he told Jason afterward. “You joke around and say that you want to beat your brother on the biggest stage ever, but it’s a weird feeling. There’s nothing really I could say to him other than I love him and he played a hell of a season.”
Travis finished with six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown and tied Rob Gronkowski for the third-longest streak in NFL history by scoring a touchdown in his sixth straight playoff game. Only John Stallworth (eight) and David Givens (seven) have longer streaks, according to ESPN. He also set a new NFL playoff record for consecutive games with six or more catches.
“I’m sure we’ll have a more emotional interaction,” Jason said. “I was a little frustrated at that point [of the hug]. I’m really happy for Trav. He played his a– off.”
After Mahomes limped to the halftime locker room in agony and returned handing the ball off at the start of the third quarter, Travis made the 10-yard shoestring catch that boosted confidence that the most explosive offense in the NFL might still resemble itself in spite of Mahomes’ ankle. Time would show that it sure did.
Jason’s name isn’t in the box score, but his impact was all over it. He anchored an offensive line that limited the Chiefs to just two sacks and shut out the duo of All-Pro Chris Jones (15.5 sacks in the regular season) and Frank Clark, whose 13.5 career playoff sacks rank third all time. Just as impressively, Jason opened up a massive hole for Jalen Hurts on his second rushing touchdown and cleared out the interior defensive line on multiple quarterback sneaks that extended Eagles’ drives.
The Kelces, both of whom are likely headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame once their careers are over, co-host a podcast.
“It’s been one of my most enjoyable seasons, both as an Eagle and as a brother to talk to him every week,” Jason Kelce said. “This next one will be an awkward podcast for me.”
It was the second Super Bowl ring for Travis, while Jason remains stuck on one and faces the decision of whether he wants to return for another season with the Eagles, who could be saying goodbye to two other stalwarts (Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox).
“We’ll see,” Jason said. “There’s a lot of factors at play.”
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