The Kansas City Chiefs left on Thursday, November 2, to travel to Frankfurt, Germany, for their game against the Miami Dolphins on November 5.
Despite giving themselves only a couple of days to acclimate to the time zone change, Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce warned the Dolphins — who traveled to Germany on Monday — not to take the defending Super Bowl champions lightly.
“There has been a lot of talk about us coming out here later and not having the time to acclimate,” Kelce said during his first press conference in Germany on November 3, via Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports. “I’ll be the one to say that, we’ve got a team that’s ready to roll anytime, anywhere. Whether it’s in the parking lot, on some nice grass or in a mud field. We don’t care. It’s all mental for us and we’re ready to rock and roll.”
#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce: “There has been a lot of talk about us coming out here later and not having the time to acclimate. I’ll be the one to say that, we’ve got a team that’s ready to roll anytime, anywhere. Whether it’s in the parking lot, on some nice grass, or in a mud…
Chiefs Taking Right Approach by Traveling Late
There have been many questions regarding whether the Chiefs can acclimate quickly enough to a time zone that is six hours ahead of Kansas City to the point that they are mentally and physically prepared for Sunday’s game. However, Patrick Mahomes‘ trainer, Bobby Stroupe, shared some three studies that indicate the defending Super Bowl champions made the right move by traveling late in the week.
Stroupe posted on X, formerly Twitter, that traveling seven days prior to a game is the best option. But that’s not usually an option for the NFL, he wrote, given that games are typically played seven days apart. Traveling three to five days prior to a game presents its own set of problems as well. Traveling two days prior to the game “works great IF players stay on US time with their schedules,” Stroupe wrote October 30.
There is a lot of talk about NFL travel schedules to Germany this week and I would like to put out some information that is relevant. There are many ways to do this and experienced coaches with Olympic / frequent foreign competitions that have trialed options.
Stroupe’s social media posts seem to fall in line with what Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has evaluated during his experiences with international travel.
“The travel is the challenge. The only reason we came over today or yesterday, was that I’d done that before a couple of different times. The guys seem to respond to it,” Reid told the media on November 3, according to Charles Goldman.
Travis Kelce on KC Not Adding WR at Deadline
Prior to the October 31 trade deadline, the Chiefs did not add another player to the team’s young, inexperienced, and overall unproductive receiver room. But that’s OK with Kelce because he said that what Kansas City’s current roster is good enough to be successful moving forward.
“I stand by, this team has every piece it needs to be great,” Kelce said on November 3, Goldman wrote. “I know we’ve got a team that can put points up. I know we’ve got the coaches to put us in positions to succeed. That’s where we’re moving going forward. It just takes guys locking in and being ready for those big-time moments when we need it most.”
The Chiefs/Dolphins game will take place on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Central time and can be watched on NFL Network or NFL Plus.
According to Quarter4 projections, the Chiefs have a 47% chance to defeat the Dolphins in Week 9, with an over/under point total set at 50.
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Chiefs TE Travis Kelce Issues Strong Message to Dolphins