During the Kansas City Chiefs‘ win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce finally found the connection they lacked at the start of the 2024 NFL season. But this didn’t change anything for Andy Reid.
The Chiefs head coach spent the last two weeks making it clear his confidence in Kelce was through the roof, regardless of what the stats sheet looked like. That’s why, even after the tight end put up better numbers in LA, Reid spoke highly of Kelce just like he did before this performance.
“I really don’t care what anybody thinks, to be honest with you,” Reid told reporters. “I watch what the defense does and how they respect him. I take it off of that. I watch Trav every day. I get to see him and how he works. He never wants to come out in practice and in the games, he’s all-in all the time. I don’t worry about all of that.”
Kelce’s low production through the first three weeks of the 2024 NFL season was a big storyline at Arrowhead. But with his 35th birthday drawing nearer, the tight end came up with seven catches for 89 yards to silence the critics.
Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs throws the ball to Travis Kelce #87 during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Inglewood, California.
Mahomes had echoed Reid’s sentiment on Kelce during the last few weeks, which is why he wasn’t surprised about this game either: “The whole Kelce thing, in general, hasn’t been a worry to me. I know whenever we need him, he’s going to make plays. That’s what he did today.”
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After weeks of struggling to get catches, Kelce finally got to lead the Chiefs in receptions and receiving yards. Of course, Rashee Rice’s injury early in the game probably had a lot to do with this sudden change.
In the first quarter, Mahomes injured Rice by accidentally tackling the wideout after throwing an interception. Until that play, the second-year wide receiver was his primary target in the 2024 NFL season. The Chiefs quarterback, in fact, admitted this was a factor in Kelce seeing better numbers in LA.
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“I think it’s a mixture of everything. Obviously with Rashee going down early, you’ve got to factor that [in] and you’ve got to put Kelce back in that situation where he’s getting high-volume catches,” said Mahomes, who also believes the opponents allowed him to find the tight end more often this time. “And then just the Chargers taking away some of the outside stuff and leaving the middle of the field open, and we were able to get it to Trav in some of those zone coverage.”
With Rice expected to miss significant time as his knee injury looks serious, Kelce may have to get used to more games like these. It’s not the way he would have wanted it, but the Chiefs need their star tight end more than ever now.
