With criticism mounting about Travis Kelce’s performance this season, his quarterback is coming to his defense.

Patrick Mahomes offered an explanation for why Kelce was rarely called upon during the Chiefs’ first three games after Sunday night’s 3-0 win over the Falcons.

“It’s crazy because teams still have — the respect they have for Travis is just unreal. It’s well-deserved,” Mahomes told reporters. “We call a lot of plays for Travis and it’s like two or three people go to him. He understands — that’s the great thing about him, he wants to make an impact on the game, but at the end of the day he wants to win.

“I’m going to do my best to keep getting him the ball when he’s there, when he’s open. I think the more Rashee (Rice) plays, the more we can run the ball, the more we can get (Xavier) Worthy involved, I think that’s going to open up Travis. People are really stressing about getting him away and that’s going to open up other guys.”

Kelce, 34, had four catches for 30 yards in Kansas City’s 22-17 win at Atlanta, and the nine-time Pro Bowler has just eight catches for 69 yards and zero touchdowns this season.

During last week’s episode of the “New Heights” podcast, which he co-hosts with his brother Jason, Travis said he “gets really, really angry and almost loses his cool” when he doesn’t have good games, but he said he doesn’t get frustrated about his unproductive first two weeks.

However, Kelce looked miserable on the sideline on Sunday night as he played another quiet four quarters.

As a result, Rice defeated the Falcons with 12 catches, 110 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets. Kelce’s five targets were second-most on the team.

Undrafted rookie running back Carson Steele had 17 carries for 72 yards while replacing the injured Isiah Pacheco.

Mahomes completed 26 of 39 passes for 217 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

In Week 4, the Chiefs will once again hit the road to play against the rivals of the Chargers, against whom Kelce has played many important games.

In 18 games against the Chargers, Kelce has 100 catches for 1,223 yards and eight touchdowns.

His most productive game of the 2023 regular season came against Los Angeles in Week 7, when he had 12 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown.