The Kansas City Chiefs blew a golden chance to get on the scoreboard in Super Bowl LVIII, and their superstar tight end was not happy about it. During the game’s second quarter, Kansas City got deep into San Francisco 49ers territory thanks to a bomb by Patrick Mahomes that landed in the arms of Mecole Hardman.
Mahomes connects with Hardman deep!
📺: #SBLVIII on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/dClcEDViWl pic.twitter.com/yUc00MtP84— NFL (@NFL) February 12, 2024
It was an absolute dime by Mahomes for a 52-yard gain, and for a Chiefs team that had not gotten onto the scoreboard yet, it was exactly what they needed to generate a little momentum. And then, disaster struck. On the very next play, Isiah Pacheco had the ball poked out by Deommodore Lenoir, and unfortunately for Kansas City, Javon Hargrave fell on it to generate a turnover.
Ball is loose. Deommodore Lenoir knocks the ball out and the @49ers defense forces a turnover!
📺: #SBLVIII on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/dClcEDViWl pic.twitter.com/PeAeIgfScU— NFL (@NFL) February 12, 2024
No one was more unhappy about this than Travis Kelce, who was not on the field for the fumble. The Chiefs took Kelce off and had Pacheco run behind Noah Gray, who could not keep Lenoir blocked. The cameras cut Kelce reacting to this by going right up to Andy Reid, screaming at him, and bumping into him.
Travis Kelce looked less than enthused pic.twitter.com/yncKhjtNl4
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Jerick McKinnon even had to come over to try and pull his teammate away, as Kelce — who has gotten riled up on the sideline a few times this season — was really hot after this one. Our hunch is that the next time the Chiefs find themselves in this spot, Kelce’s going to stay on the field.