Travis Kelce ramps up the Super Bowl mind games as he claims pressure is all on the 49ers to land their first championship for nearly 30 years: ‘Until you win that you just feel it’

Travis Kelce has suggested the pressure is all on the San Francisco 49ers to end their 29-year wait for a Super Bowl this weekend.

Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are bidding to become the first team to retain the Vince Lombardi Trophy since 2005 on Sunday in Las Vegas, where they will lock horns with the 49ers in the NFL’s end-of-season showpiece.

It is the fourth time in five years Kansas City has made it this far in the postseason, having previously toppled San Francisco in 2019 and the Philadelphia Eagles last year while losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.

Yet while the chance to make history is on the line for them too, Kelce believes the Niners will be feeling the heat a lot more on Super Bowl week as they seek a first triumph for nearly 30 years.

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Travis Kelce believes the pressure is all on the 49ers to end their Super Bowl drought

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Kelce and the Chiefs can become the first team to retain the Super Bowl for almost 20 years

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But he believes San Francisco will be feeling the heat more in their bid to win a first Super Bowl since 1994

‘I feel like until you win that you just feel the pressure, the want and the desire,’ the Chiefs tight end told brother Jason on their New Heights podcast ahead of Sunday’s game.

‘Don’t get me wrong, I want this one more than the first one, I feel like. So I feel like it’s just however you build it up in your mind.

‘For me, it’s not as much pressure – it’s just exciting for the challenge at hand. I’ve been in a few of these big games and there’s like no other game out there man, and there’s no other feeling than being on the field and making plays on the Super Bowl. There’s just no better feeling man than to go out there and find a way to win with your guys.

‘I’m more excited about the challenge than I am feeling the pressure of trying to go back to back, even though I want to be in the tier of NFL players and teams that have done that.’

Kelce is looking to claim his third Super Bowl ring on Sunday in Vegas, which will further cement his status as one of the greatest tight ends in the history of the sport.

The 34-year-old has proven instrumental to a Chiefs team that has dominated the postseason over the past five years, and for some he is the best to ever do it in his respective position.

Joining Sports Illustrated in a Q&A format in Las Vegas ahead of Super Bowl LVIII on Wednesday, former Bronco and Raven tight end Shannon Sharpe explained why he thinks Kelce reaches the top of his list when it comes to naming the best who played in his position.

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Kelce can further cement his status as one of the greatest tight ends of all time in Las Vegas

‘Right now, for me, he’s the GOAT,’ Sharpe said of Travis. ‘When you base it on what he’s been able to do, the longevity that he’s enjoyed – he has the most playoff catches.

‘He and [Chiefs quarterback] Patrick [Mahomes] have the most touchdowns between a duo.’

‘It’s just hard for me to say somebody has done it as good for as long,’ he added.

‘That’s no knock on any of the other greats, obviously. We know what [Rob Gronkowski] has done… but Travis Kelce can match him stat-for-stat, number-for-number, yard-for-yard.

‘For my money, I got Trav’ one and Gronk’ two.’