The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a devastating 22-19 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 11. This meant that their record dropped to an unprecedented 5-5 under the Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid era. Three days after the loss, during Wednesday’s episode of his New Heights podcast, Travis Kelce directly called out the locker room’s lack of discipline. He singled out procedural penalties as the primary culprit in their struggles.

The 36-year-old tight end didn’t mince words about the team’s self-inflicted wounds. “Bunch of flags all over the place, whether it was, you know, procedural penalties, which is the f—— most frustrating thing ever, or holding penalties, which some I’m here for, others I’m just like, ‘What are we even doing?'” Kelce stated bluntly.

Referee Adrian Hill and his crew oversaw the contest. They rank among the top five in the NFL in terms of penalty assessments. Hill’s crew has been flagged by statistics for flagging home teams at significantly higher rates than visiting teams. Notably, Kansas City entered the game against Denver with a perfect 4-0 record when Hill officiated, until Sunday’s dramatic turn.​

“It’s frustrating because we’ve gotten to the point where we are 5-5 … It’s even more frustrating knowing the kind of guys that we have, the talent that we have, knowing the type of coaches that we have. Everybody’s gotta just kind of look at themselves in the mirror,” Travis Kelce further added.

The game between Kansas City and Denver was marred by 25 total flags thrown across both teams. This resulted in 20 penalties for a total of 216 yards. However, the Kansas City Chiefs bore the brunt of the undisciplined play. The Chiefs committed 10 penalties for 69 yards and were flagged 13 times in total.

Kelce’s frustration centered specifically on infractions committed in Sunday’s matchup. This included false starts (by rookie left tackle Josh Simmons and tight end Noah Gray), illegal motions (offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor for illegal formation, LG Kingsley Suamataia for illegal use of hands, and CB Kevin Knowles for illegal block above the waist), and other pre-snap issues. The Chiefs have been called for 9 false starts for 45 yards through 10 games. They currently rank 17th in the NFL with 6.9 penalties per game.

Despite all these glaring issues, Travis Kelce etched a memorable moment in the franchise’s history. It happened when he made a 21-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter with 9:57 remaining.

Travis Kelce reflects on the milestone after tough Chiefs loss

On the New Heights Podcast, when Jason Kelce offered congratulations to his brother on the historic milestone that gave the Chiefs a 19-16 lead, Travis acknowledged the emotional complexity of the moment.

“Obviously, right now it’s sour because it’s coming off of a f—— loss, but I got so much respect for the organization, so much respect for the guys that have paved the way, not only in the Chiefs organization, but in the National Football League that have made an opportunity for myself to come in and make a living, live out my childhood dreams, man.”

Travis Kelce surpassed Priest Holmes’ franchise record of 83 career touchdowns scored, which had stood since 2005. However, the timing of personal achievement could not have been more bittersweet, coming in the wake of the terrible loss.

The Kansas City Chiefs will now face the Indianapolis Colts in week 12 at Arrowhead Stadium. It will be an intense clash since the Colts are sitting at the top of the AFC South with an 8-2 record.