Travis Kelce has twice been on the winning side of Super Bowl matchups with close friend and San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle.
An impressive fourth quarter and overtime performance from Kelce was key to the Chiefs beating the 49ers in the Super Bowl for the second time in five seasons in February, with his efforts denying Kittle the vengeance he claimed he would deliver as the seconds ticked down during San Francisco's loss to Kansas City on the same stage four years prior.
Despite their strong relationship, Kelce isn't in the business of feeling bad for his friend.
Kelce recently appeared on 'Bussin' With the Boys' and, asked about breaking Kittle's heart twice in the Super Bowl, he referenced his and the Chiefs' victory over his brother Jason and the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57.
"I’ve played against Jason in the Super Bowl, I’ve played against George twice," Kelce said.
"You go out there to win the f****** football game, you go out there to be on the mountain top. I want that s*** for my brother, I wanted it for Jason when he was playing in Minnesota against Tom Brady. You want things for them, you want them to have that success but at the same time ‘god damn I’ve got to f****** get this dub man.'"
While Kelce understandably doesn't feel any regrets over getting the better of Kittle and the Niners, he does want to see a change that would benefit the 2023 first-team All-Pro.
"I wish he would have had more opportunities to make plays though, I do wish that," Kelce added.
"I think the Shanahan offense can get kind of tied up in, I mean it’s Christian McCaffrey right now. It goes through him. They’ve got f****** talent all over the f****** field on the offensive side, I think that offense runs best when it’s going through 85."
Though McCaffrey has taken over as the focal point for the 49er offense since arriving in a midseason trade in 2022, Kittle was still second on the team in targets last season with 90 and finished with 1,020 receiving yards.
It may be fair to question the reliance on McCaffrey from a standpoint of managing his workload, but it's tough to be too critical of the Niners for basing their attack around one of the most versatile weapons in the league, one who had a league-leading 2,023 scrimmage yards and 21 touchdowns en route to the Offensive Player of the Year award.
McCaffrey has provided remarkably efficient production in the run game and helped transformed the passing game with what he can do as a receiver in the formation and as as a check down option in the backfield.
The issue for Kittle in the Super Bowl was primarily that he suffered an injury that limited him to one catch for three yards. Even with his absence, the 49ers were a play away from defeating the Chiefs, in large part thanks to McCaffrey racking up 160 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
Kelce's stance on Kittle's usage is understandable given their friendship, but it's not one based in reality. The offense runs primarily through McCaffrey and, though the 49ers did not get over the line in the Super Bowl, all the evidence since his arrival suggests it is right that it does so.
