The Kansas City Chiefs’ close end needless to say, he never beat Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in the playoffs.
In less than a week, the Kansas City Chiefs aim to be the first team since the New England Patriots (2003-04) to repeat themselves as Super Bowl champions. But the ones standing in the way of their goal are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by quarterback Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
These two people know what it takes to compete for and win Lombardi trophies, and one of them in particular came at the expense of the Chiefs and the close-end Travis Kelce. During Super Bowl 55 media day on Monday, Kelce said he was “very aware” that he had never beaten the Brady-Gronkowski duo in win-or-go home games.
“I’ve never beaten Rob Gronkowski or Tom Brady in a playoff situation and I know that,” Kelce said of ProFootballTalk.
Brady and Gronk got the most out of Kelce in the postseason
Kelce has made the most of Brady and Gronkowski in the regular season, most recently in Kansas City’s 27:24 win over Tampa Bay in Week 12. In the playoffs, however, Kelce has a 2-0 record against the veteran playoff duo.
Brady and Gronkowski met the close end for the first time in the 2015 playoffs, where they lost in the divisional round to the New England Patriots 27:20. Kelce hit six of quarterback Alex Smith’s nine goals for 23 yards with no touchdowns. The Patriots lost in the AFC Championship Game 20:18 to the Denver Broncos.
Then there was the 2018 AFC Championship Game, which ended in an exciting way. The Patriots scored the 37:31 victory after taking possession of the ball to start the overtie and scoring a touchdown to end the game without the Chief’s offensive ever getting a chance to take the ball to touch. In that competition, Kelce scored three of five goals from quarterback Patrick Mahomes for 23 yards and a touchdown. Of course, the Patriots rose to and won Super Bowl 53 after closing the Los Angeles Rams 13-3.
Now Kelce has the chance to take revenge on the Hall of Fame duo in Tampa Bay on the biggest stage – the Super Bowl. If he succeeds, those two previous losses will be put into the rear view for good.
