“The Sky Is Definitely Opalite”: Travis Kelce Breaks Down Chiefs’ Historic Shutout, Rashee Rice’s “Banger” Return, and Getting “Butt Naked Open”

“The sky is definitely opalite in Kansas City right now.”

It’s a phrase that, in any other context, might sound like poetic nonsense. But coming from Travis Kelce, it’s a powerful, coded message to the entire NFL. It’s a joyful nod to his fiancée Taylor Swift’s music, a clever metaphor for a team finding its beauty, and a stark warning to the league. The Kansas City Chiefs, after a shaky start to the season that Kelce describes as “Onyx,” are back. And they’re not just winning; they are “full on beautiful” and systematically dismantling their competition.

The latest evidence was a 31-0 demolition of the Las Vegas Raiders, a game so lopsided it left even the winners feeling a strange mix of euphoria and empathy. In a candid breakdown on his recent podcast appearance, Kelce pulled back the curtain on what he called a “miserable” experience for his opponents, revealing how the Chiefs’ offense finally “felt good to be firing on all cylinders” and how new weapons are making his job—and life—a whole lot more fun.

This wasn’t just another win. It was an anomaly of historic proportions. As Kelce himself learned, this was the first regular-season shutout for the Chiefs since 2011, his own rookie year. But the more “crazy” statistic, the one he couldn’t wrap his head around, was that it was the first regular-season shutout of head coach Andy Reid’s entire illustrious career. “I’m like, that can’t be right!” Kelce exclaimed.

To not score a single point in the NFL is a profound failure, and Kelce, a veteran of countless locker rooms, knows that pain well. “I feel terrible for the Raiders,” he admitted, his usual triumphant tone softening. “I’ve had some really bad offensive games. It is… it’s miserable to be a part of those. This is right up there with them.”

The dominance was absolute, and the stats Kelce rattled off were “mind-blowing.” The Chiefs had 30 first downs. The Raiders were held to under 100 total yards. “We had as many first downs as they had offensive plays,” he said, still trying to process the magnitude of the mismatch. The Chiefs’ offense wasn’t just scoring; it was grinding the Raiders into dust with long, methodical drives—he recalled 17 and 18-play drives that ate up the clock and “felt like long drive drills.”

So, what changed? How did the “Onyx” offense suddenly become “Opalite”?

According to Kelce, the catalyst was the return of one man: Rashee Rice. The young receiver, back in action after a long absence, completely changed the team’s offensive geometry. “Rashee Rice finally got his chance to be a part of this madness and and show what he can do,” Kelce gushed.

For the first time all season, the Chiefs unleashed their full arsenal of receivers: Rice, rookie speedster Xavier Worthy, and veteran Hollywood Brown, all on the field at the same time. The results were immediate. Rice finished with seven catches for 42 yards and two touchdowns. Hollywood Brown found the end zone again. The offense, Kelce said, “was working for us.”

This wasn’t an accident. Kelce confirmed the game plan was intentionally designed to get Rice the ball and get him going early. “We want to get him involved early, man. Let him get… used to having the ball in his hands, getting him rolling,” he shared. “Obviously, everybody loves Rashee in the building. He’s one of our favorite teammates.”

It’s what Rice does after the catch that makes him so invaluable. “He’s a great route runner, but when he gets that ball in his hands, he’s a strong runner,” Kelce explained. “He feels the defense… how to knife the defense, get into the seams, in the cracks… That’s really where we missed him.” Kelce described Rice’s ability to “make somebody miss” in a one-on-one opportunity as a “hell of an advantage,” the exact element that had been missing from their offense.

And with all these new weapons drawing defensive attention, the future Hall of Famer is finding himself in unfamiliar territory. Namely, all alone.

Kelce, who had three catches for 54 yards, broke down his biggest play of the game with a hilarious, candid admission. “It pays to have really fast receivers on your team that take up a lot of attention,” he laughed. “And that’s what Xavier Worthy did on that play. He took the top off the defense… and I just had to get lost behind the linebackers… I thought he was right on my trail, and then, you know, he just stopped following me and I ended up getting butt naked open.”

It’s this combination of historic dominance, strategic genius, and pure, unadulterated fun that has the Chiefs’ locker room feeling looser than it has all season. The “Opalite” comment wasn’t just a throwaway line. It was a direct reference to quarterback Patrick Mahomes posting a Rashee Rice highlight clip to the tune of “Opalite,” a song by Kelce’s fiancée.

“Man, I told y’all it was going to be a banger, man!” Kelce roared. “The sky is definitely opalite in Kansas City right now.”

The team is having so much fun that they’re delighting in their own running gags. Kelce shared an inside joke about a play affectionately dubbed “the play that never works,” where Mahomes attempts a hard count to draw the defense offsides. “Pat’s hilarious,” Kelce said, “because we had been practicing it like this… to kind of like make a mockery of it, to have fun.” The joke reached its peak when Mahomes, wearing a microphone for the game, was caught complaining “This play never fucking works! It fucking never fucking works, man!”

It’s a perfect snapshot of the 2025 Chiefs. They are a team so dominant that they can make a mockery of their own failed plays. They are a team whose quarterback openly soundtracks his highlights to his tight end’s girlfriend’s music. And they are a team whose biggest superstar can, thanks to his new teammates, find himself “butt naked open” and loving every second of it.

The rest of the NFL has been warned. The Chiefs are healthy, they are versatile, and they are having fun. The sky over Kansas City is no longer dark and uncertain; it’s “full on beautiful.”