KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce has played 96 regular-season home games for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The next one might be the last.
The 36-year-old Kelce, who was chosen for the Pro Bowl for the 11th time on Tuesday, will be inside Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night for a Christmas showdown with the Denver Broncos.
And with the Chiefs eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in a decade, and a trip to Las Vegas for their finale, it could be the last time that Kelce walks off his beloved field.
“What Travis has done to this organization, to his teammates, his coaches, this city — it’s special,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “I hope like hell that’s not true. I just have so much respect for him.”
Kelce has not yet announced whether he will retire after a superlative 13-year career in which he won three Super Bowl rings and was an All-Pro on four occasions. But he has said that his decision will be made quickly after the season ends, giving the Chiefs ample time to not only prepare for free agency and the draft but their future without him.
“I’d rather just keep the focus on this team right now,” Kelce said last week, “and all the conversations I have with the team and everything moving forward will be with them. And I think it’s a unique time in my life, and unfortunately I know when the season ends this year. Typically we go into it and we don’t know when it will end.”
He’s had a heck of a final season, if that turns out to be the case.
After doubling down on fitness after the Chiefs were waylaid by the Eagles in the Super Bowl last February, Kelce has played in every game during a difficult season for the team. He has 68 catches for 803 yards, allowing him to join Jerry Rice as the only players in NFL history to eclipse the 800-yards receiving mark in 12 consecutive seasons.
Kelce also has five touchdown receptions, matching the most he’s had in the past three seasons.
And while Kelce could have shut it down after the Chiefs were eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since his first full season in the NFL, he has continued to take the field every day. He had one catch for six yards in last week’s 26-9 loss to the Titans, but it pushed his streak — the longest active one in the league — to 189 games with at least one reception.
It didn’t help that backup quarterback Gardner Minshew joined Kelce’s good friend, Patrick Mahomes, by suffering a bone bruise one week after the two-time MVP tore knee ligaments. Chris Oladokun finished the game at quarterback and will start on Thursday night against Denver.
“I will say this: What [Kelce] is going through even these last couple games — we’re out of the playoffs, we’re out, and he’s out there every day, practicing, leading, helping people out,” Nagy said. “That should show a lot of these younger guys why he’s playing this game, and why he is so special.”
Etc.
Cornerbacks Trent McDuffie (knee), Jaylen Watson (groin) and receivers Nikko Remigio (knee), Rashee Rice (concussion) and Tyquan Thornton (concussion) did not practice Tuesday. … The Chiefs have signed quarterback Shane Buechele as Oladokun’s backup for the rest of the season. TE Noah Gray would serve as the emergency quarterback.
When an LAPD captain stood up during a meeting this fall and asked Chief Jim McDonnell to explain the role of his most trusted deputy, Dominic Choi, other top brass in attendance waited with anticipation for the reply.
Multiple department sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting and speak candidly about their boss, said McDonnell’s answer drew confused looks.
Some officials had began to wonder how closely the 66-year-old McDonnell, who stepped into the job in November 2024 after recent work in consulting and academia, was involved in day-to-day operations. Choi is often attached to his hip, and McDonnell has privately advised other senior staff to go through the assistant chief for key matters, leaving some uncertainty about how shots are called, the sources said.
At the senior staff meeting, McDonnell joked about not wanting to talk about Choi — who was not present in the room — behind his back, and told the captain that Choi was simply his “eyes and ears,” without offering more clarity, according to the sources.
The awkward exchange reflected the uncertainty that some LAPD officials feel about McDonnell’s leadership style.
Over the last year, The Times spoke with numerous sources, from high-ranking commanders to beat cops on the street, along with recently retired LAPD officials and longtime department observers, to gather insights on McDonnell’s first 12 months as the city’s top cop.
By some measures, McDonnell has been a success. Violent crime citywide has continued to decline. Despite the LAPD’s hiring struggles, officials say that applications by new recruits have been increasing. And support for the chief remains strong in some political circles, where backers lauded his ability to navigate so many challenges, most not of his own making — from the city’s financial crisis and civil unrest to the devastating wildfires that hit just two months after he was sworn in.
At the same time, shootings by police officers have increased to their highest levels in nearly a decade and the LAPD’s tactics at protests this summer drew both public outrage and lawsuits. Some longtime observers worry the department is sliding back into a defiant culture of past eras.
“You’ve got a department that’s going to bankrupt the city but doesn’t want to answer for what it is going to be doing,” said Connie Rice, a civil rights attorney.
In an interview with The Times, McDonnell said he is proud of how his department has performed. He said his bigger plans for the LAPD are slowly coming together.
McDonnell rose through the LAPD’s ranks early in his career, and acknowledged much has changed in the 14 years that he was away from the department. That’s why he has leaned “heavily” on the expertise of Choi, who served as interim chief before he took over, he said.
“He’s been a tremendous partner for me coming back,” McDonnell said.
Dominic Choi, who served as interim LAPD chief before Jim McDonnell was hired, speaks at a 2024 news conference with federal law enforcement officials.
(Al Seib / For The Times)
McDonnell added that he has relied just as much on his other command staff, encouraging them to think and act for themselves “to get the job done.”
Retired LAPD commander Lillian Carranza is among those saying the new chief has failed to shake things up after Michel Moore stepped down abruptly in January 2024.
Instead, she said, McDonnell has lacked the decisiveness required to make real changes in the face of resistance from the police union and others.
“It appears that the chief thought he was coming back to the LAPD from 15 years ago,” she said of McDonnell. “It’s been a disappointment because of the individuals that he’s promoted — it just seems like Michel Moore 2.0 again.”
There are notable contrasts in style and strategy between McDonnell and his predecessor.
Moore, who did not respond to a call seeking comment, often used his pulpit to try to get out ahead of potential crises. McDonnell has kept a lower profile. He has largely halted the regular press briefings that Moore once used to answer questions about critical incidents and occasionally opine on national issues.
Unlike Moore, who developed a reputation as a demanding manager who insisted on approving even minor decisions, McDonnell has seemingly embraced delegation. Still, his perceived deference to Choi, who also served as a top advisor to Moore, has led to questions about just how much has really changed. Choi has represented the department at nearly a fourth of all Police Commission meetings this year, a task usually performed by the chief.
Former LAPD Chief Michel Moore attends an event at the Police Academy on Dec. 7, 2023.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
It’s telling of their closeness, LAPD insiders said, that Choi occupies the only other suite on the 10th floor of LAPD headquarters with direct access, via a balcony, to McDonnell’s own office.
Choi did not respond to a request for comment.
Mayor Karen Bass chose McDonnell as chief after a lengthy nationwide search, picking him over candidates who would have been the first Black woman or first Latino to lead the department. He offered experience, having also served as police chief in Long Beach and as L.A. County sheriff.
McDonnell has mostly avoided the type of headline-grabbing scandals that plagued the department under Moore. Meanwhile, homicides citywide were on pace to reach a 60-year low — a fact that the mayor has repeatedly touted as her reelection campaign kicks into gear.
In a brief statement, the mayor commended McDonnell and said she looked forward to working with him to make the city safer “while addressing concerns about police interaction with the public and press.”
Jim McDonnell shakes hands with Mayor Karen Bass after being introduced as LAPD chief during a news conference at City Hall on Oct. 4, 2024.
(Ringo Chiu / For The Times)
McDonnell has taken steps to streamline the LAPD’s operations, including folding the department’s four homicide bureaus into the Robbery-Homicide Division and updating the department’s patrol plan to account for the department being down fewer officers.
John Lee, who chairs the City Council’s public safety committee, said the chief is the kind of experienced and steady leader the city needs as it gets ready to host the World Cup and Olympics. McDonnell, he said, deserves credit for guiding the LAPD through “unprecedented situations,” while largely delivering on promises to reduce crime and lift officer morale.
But among the rank and file, there is continued frustration with the department’s disciplinary system. The process, which critics outside the LAPD say rarely holds officers accountable, is seen internally as having a double standard that leads to harsh punishments for regular cops and slaps on the wrist for higher-ranking officials. Efforts at reform have repeatedly stalled in recent years.
McDonnell told The Times that officers have for years felt that the system was stacked against them. One of his priorities is “making the disciplinary system more fair in the eyes of those involved in it,” he said, and speeding up internal affairs investigations that can drag on for a year or more without “jeopardizing accountability or transparency.”
He said he’d like to give supervisors greater authority to quickly weed out complaints that “are demonstrably false on their face” based on body camera footage and other evidence.”
But the lack of progress on the issue has started to rankle the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union for officers below the rank of lieutenant. The League urged McDonnell to take action in a statement to The Times.
“The way we see it, the Chief is either going to leverage his mandate and implement change, much to the chagrin of some in his command staff that staunchly support the status quo, or he will circle the wagons around the current system and continue to run out the clock,” the statement read. ”There’s no need to keep booking conference rooms to meet and talk about ‘fixing discipline,’ it’s time to fish or cut bait.”
Perhaps more than anything, the ongoing federal immigration crackdown has shaped McDonnell’s first year as chief.
Although McDonnell is limited in what he can do in the face of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies, some of the chief’s detractors say he is missing a moment to improve relations between police and citizens of a majority-Latino city.
The son of Irish immigrants from Boston, McDonnell drew criticism during President Trump’s first term when, as L.A. County sheriff, he allowed ICE agents access to the nation’s largest jail. As LAPD chief, McDonnell has often voiced his support for long-standing policies that restrict cooperation on civil immigration enforcement and limit what officers can ask members of the public about their status in the country.
“I get hate mail from two extremes: those that are saying we’re not doing enough to work with ICE and those that are saying we’re working with ICE too much,” McDonnell said.
U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino marches with federal agents to the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building on Aug. 14.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton, who runs the department’s detective bureau, said McDonnell has to tread lightly politically and can’t follow the suggestion of some people that “we should use our law enforcement agencies to fight back against the feds.”
“He can’t come out and say, ‘We oppose ICE, get out of our city,’ like some of these other clowns are doing,” Hamilton said. “I mean, what, are you just trying to bring the wrath?”
But the LAPD’s response to the protests against Trump’s agenda has repeatedly led to bad optics. Officers have stepped in to keep the peace when angry crowds form at the scene of ICE arrests, which some said created the appearance of defending the federal actions.
During large demonstrations — which have occasionally turned unruly, with bricks and Molotov cocktails hurled by some in the crowds — LAPD officers on foot or horseback have not held back in swinging batons, firing less-lethal munitions and even launching tear gas, a measure that hadn’t been deployed on the streets of L.A. in decades.
Press rights organizations and a growing list of people who say they were injured by police have filed lawsuits, potentially adding to the tens of millions in the legal bills the department already faces for protest-related litigation from years that predated McDonnell.
Attorney Susan Seager, who is suing the department over its recent protest tactics, said that McDonnell has seemed unwilling to second-guess officers, even when confronted with clear video evidence of them violating court-imposed restrictions.
“I’ve never seen LAPD so unhinged at a protest shooting people,” she said.
An LAPD officer pushes back an anti-ICE protester during a rally on “No Kings Day” in downtown Los Angeles on June 14.
What goes unmentioned by the LAPD’s detractors, he said, is how volatile and “kinetic,” protests have been, requiring officers to use all means available to them to avoid being overwhelmed by hostile crowds.
Reporters and others on the front lines should know the risks of being there, he said.
“If the journalists are in that environment, they sometimes get hit with less-lethal projectiles — as do our police officers who are in that same environment,” he said.
The Chargers quarterback had passed for 139 yards and ran for 66 more in a 22-19 win just a week after undergoing surgery to stabilize a fracture in his non-throwing hand. Now, after one of the biggest wins of the season, he was hoping to receive good news about his injury despite being sacked a career-worst seven times.
The scans showed his hand was swollen, but it had improved since surgery, Herbert said. The results provided him with a sense of optimism heading into the Chargers’ AFC West showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
“I think compared to the days after surgery, I think it’s a lot better now,” Herbert said. “I think it was just sore. I think having played on it, using it, and kind of falling on it too, I think that kind of helped, and was some of the reason why it was sore.”
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh described Herbert’s performance against the Eagles as “the most competitive thing” he ever saw. Herbert, however, gave a negative self-assessment — he threw an interception and lost the ball once on two fumbles. For Herbert, it wasn’t good enough for a Chargers team vying to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in more than three decades.
Offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who praised Herbert’s grit after the win over the Eagles, was proud to hear Herbert taking responsibility for his mistakes.
“First of all, I love that,” Roman said. “That tells me everything I need to know about that individual. … A great leader, setting a great example there. But on the flip side, he did what he had to do to win that game. He’s smart enough to recognize that that’s not how he wants to win every game, and he will adjust accordingly.”
Chargers center Bradley Bozeman, who has snapped the ball to Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Bryce Young over his nine-year NFL career, said Herbert is one of one.
“He’s the best quarterback — no shot to any quarterback ever played with — but he’s the best quarterback ever,” said Bozeman, who joined the Chargers before the start of the 2024 season. “He’s committed to what he does. He’s tough as a damn nail.”
That toughness could prove to be too much for the Chiefs. A Chargers (9-4) win on Sunday (in combination with several other factors) could potentially eliminate Kansas City (6-7) from postseason contention for the first time since 2014.
Although the Chargers are trying to sweep the Chiefs for the first time since 2013, safety Derwin James Jr. knows they can’t underestimate a Kansas City team that has won the last nine division crowns. James, second on the Chargers in tackles (70), is expecting all the challenges that come with facing Patrick Mahomes at Arrowhead Stadium in 20-degree weather.
“Every time you go out there, everybody’s gonna play desperate to win, because they just want to win,” James said. “We’re desperate, they’re desperate — so let’s go out there and play.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — What they started in balmy Brazil, the Chargers finished on a bitter cold day at Arrowhead Stadium.
They completed a season sweep of Kansas City with a 16-13 victory, solidifying their own playoff chances while driving a stake through the postseason hopes of their AFC West rival.
The Chiefs, who hadn’t missed the playoffs since 2014, officially were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
The come-from-behind victory gave the Chargers their 10th win with three games to go and kept alive their designs on winning a division currently led by the Denver Broncos.
Cameron Dicker kicked two of his three field goals after halftime to bring back the Chargers, who were facing a 13-3 deficit in the second quarter before scoring 13 unanswered points.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes sustained an apparent leg injury late in the game and had to be helped to the locker room. He was replaced by Gardner Minshew, who was intercepted by Derwin James Jr. to end the game.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes grabs his left leg after sustaining an injury in the fourth quarter.
(Reed Hoffmann / Associated Press)
With a temperature of 15 degrees at kickoff, this was the third-coldest game in Chargers history, although their defense looked at home in the frigid weather. Tuli Tuipulotu and Odafe Oweh each collected two sacks of Mahomes, and linebacker Daiyan Henley had a pivotal fourth-quarter interception of the Chiefs quarterback near the goal line.
Chargers safety Tony Jefferson was ejected in the fourth quarter after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Tyquan Thornton that knocked the Chiefs receiver out of the game. Earlier in the second half, Jefferson flattened Rashee Rice with another huge hit.
It marked just the second time in 13 years the Chargers beat the Chiefs (6-8) twice in the same season.
With the way Patrick Mahomes & Co. have played lately — losing four of five and in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time with Mahomes — that’s entirely possible.
The Chargers need to win at least one of their final four games to get to double digits and put themselves in position to make the playoffs, and it’s a brutal stretch — at Kansas City and Dallas, home against Houston, and a finale at Denver. They could check that box Sunday, having won five of their last six games.
How the Chargers can win: The Chargers need to ratchet up the pressure on Mahomes, particularly off the edges, and test an offensive line that has been in a steady rotation and is suspect at the tackle spots. Take advantage of the inconsistency at receiver and the propensity for drops. The secondary led the way in the win over Philadelphia. Win on early downs to get into third-and-manageable and don’t fall behind in what can be one of the loudest stadiums in the league. Keep Chris Jones and the rest off of Justin Herbert, who still is recovering from surgery on his left hand. Continue to pound the ball with Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal.
How the Chiefs can win: The Chiefs need to win out, and to do that they must get out of their own way. Too many times they have fallen victim to mistakes — drops, penalties, missed assignments, defensive lapses. It’s like a bizarro version of the team that went 11-0 in one-score games last season. As great as he is, Mahomes can’t get happy feet the way he has too often. Kansas City needs to do a better job of giving him a clean pocket. The Chiefs need to tighten up on defense late — that has been a problem — and limit turnovers. They’re in a loud stadium and the cold weather plays to their advantage.
Scott was the first person eliminated from the jungle and immediately headed back to the UK. The former Arsenal star reunited with popstar beau Jess Glynne under difficult circumstances, after her mum suffered a major stroke and needed brain surgery.
Sharing on social media after fans noticed her missing from the famous bridge walk, Glynne said: “Over the last few weeks, my mum suffered a major stroke and needed urgent brain surgery. It’s been a really life-altering time for my family, and I’ve had to stay close to home.
“Alex would always want me to be where I’m needed most. I can’t wait to have her back by my side.”
Scott was initially grateful for the I’m a Celeb experience, as she said: “It’s been such an incredible experience. I didn’t think that… mentally it is so tough, and I did struggle at times, missing home and everything.
“But I’m so glad I got to do this series with such a great bunch of campmates. We really connected, and I never expected that coming into the jungle, to make the bonds that we all did.”
However, she is yet to reunite with any of her campmates after the show and also called out the broadcaster for not showing her true self. During an appearance on Lorraine, Scott said: “It’s me actually being out and learning what’s been aired and what’s been shown.
“I had so much fun, and that bit wasn’t shown. I had so much fun. I was called the Games Master in there, the stuff that I was doing with everyone.
“It’s only an hour show so only so much can go into the edit but when I reflect, I wish more of the fun stuff, people had seen that side of me. I wanted them to see the more fun Alex Scott that they didn’t see.”
She added: “Ginge and Aitch have had all the airtime and everyone has seen them, but my special bond with Shona, I don’t think the public have seen the real journey she’s been, she’s spoken so much about her anxiety and her fun side but I don’t think anyone has seen it.”
After missing the final episode and wrap party, Scott is likely not to appear on Saturday’s reunion show. Speaking to the Daily Mail, she added: “It’s been a hard couple of months, but Jess was like I want you to go on the show and do it for my mum.
“It’s been tough because I want to be here for the wrap party and I have to get home straight away. She’s my Jessica, and I’m going home to be her rock. My campmates knew what I was going through and I just want to thank everyone at ITV and my camp mates because they’ve all shown me so much support.”
The I’m a Celebrity Coming Out show will air on ITV1 and ITVX on Saturday, December 13 at 9:05pm.
