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Tim McManus, ESPN Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Eagles center Jason Kelce said he is not playing the Super Bowl revenge angle in front of Monday night’s showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs, but would like to post his first NFL win against brother Travis Kelce in their ongoing sibling rivalry.
“I’m motivated to win the game. I don’t need the Super Bowl [loss] to motivate me to beat my brother, or [his former coach] Andy Reid. I’ve never beaten them in my career. I’m more motivated maybe by that,” he said. “I don’t buy into Super Bowl revenge games. Each season is different . This team is not the same, that team is not the same. Nothing that happens on Monday night is going to at all change or make anything different about what happened last year.”
The Eagles lost a 38-35 heartbreaker to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl last season. The matchup between the Kelce brothers on the game’s biggest stage only enhanced their growing popularity. That has since ballooned to full-out stardom thanks in large part to Travis’ romantic link to Taylor Swift and the success of their “New Heights” podcast. It has led them to unexpected places, including the cover of People Magazine for Jason as a finalist for Sexiest Man Alive.
“It’s been a whirlwind. It kind of started last year with the podcast and it’s continually built up more and more from the Super Bowl and my brother’s love life and People magazine,” Jason said. “It’s continued to get more and more and you just kind of take it one day at a time, I think you try and stay grounded with it, you try and be realistic about it and you try to be the same person you are.
“It’s harder to go out. I went to the airport – that’s more difficult than it used to be. But outside of that, I think you just try and keep doing what you’ve been doing. Obviously something’s working.”
Kelce is 0-4 against the Chiefs lifetime. He noted that the two teams he hasn’t beaten, the Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, are both on the schedule this year, giving him the opportunity to finally notch a win against them in what could be his final season. Winning against Travis would be particularly sweet, but Jason said he doesn’t need it to be fulfilled.
“I’ve beat him enough in his life that I think I will still be happy,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of them. It would be nice to get a win under the Eagles’ belt.
“As with every week, even though there’s a lot of familiarity, there’s a lot of personal attachment to this game on my side, you’re really focused on what we need to do. I think if you look at that outside noise you’re really doing yourself and your teammates a disservice.”
