Without being the most productive player in the offense, Travis Kelce still managed to take the limelight during the Kansas City Chiefs‘ win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season. And it was by improvising a play that Andy Reid didn’t call.
In a third and long situation during the second quarter of the game, Kelce came up with a lateral pass for running back Samaje Perine that allowed the Chiefs to gain 21 yards. That play gave plenty to talk about, with Reid and Mahomes making something clear to Kelce about these kinds of passes. But it was the tight end himself who explained why he pulled it off.
“I had no idea that he had a chip or anything on the backside. I was reversing (the) field. I felt guys over…and I was like, more yards going this way, but then I realized I couldn’t get more,” Kelce said on the ‘New Heights’ podcast with his brother Jason, via Chiefs Wire. “There’s a guy in red over here. I just feel him…, it’s like fast-break basketball. You just running the lane.”
The 35-year-old had one of his best games in the 2024 NFL season with nine catches for 70 yards, but his highlight was that lateral pass. However, Kelce didn’t want to take all the credit for himself, as he believes Perine also deserves recognition for reading the situation so quickly.
Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
“You can’t just throw it on me. It’s Samaje, unbelievable job by Perine to actually be ready because he was kind of, like, shuffling,” Kelce said. “That’s a ball player right there.”
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Reid, Mahomes encourage Kelce to continue attempting lateral passes
Both Reid and Patrick Mahomes addressed Kelce’s lateral after the game, making it clear they don’t mind him attempting these kinds of passes as long as they end in a completion. In fact, both of them encouraged the tight end to continue trying them.
“We do it every day, and he does a great job of the decision to do that or not do it“, Reid explained, before joking about the possibility it doesn’t work, “If he doesn’t do well with it, I tell him, ‘Don’t come back to the bench.’”
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Mahomes also had time to joke about the situation by hilariously comparing Kelce with his three-year-old daughter: “I’m shaking my head because I told him before the play, I said, ‘I’m gonna throw it to you so we can get in field goal range,’ and he underhand shoveled it across the entire field. It’s like I’m talking to Sterling. That’s Travis, man. He’s a special player, and as long as he does it and it works, man, no one’s going to say anything.“
Samaje Perine says Kelce’s lateral was not planned
Perine echoed his coach and quarterback’s comments, explaining that the lateral pass was Kelce’s idea. However, it didn’t catch him completely by surprise as the Chiefs running back saw the tight end practicing this more than once.
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“It was not scripted. I can tell you that much. I saw him do it a couple of times — he does it in practice — so I was like, ‘Let me stay in phase — just in case.’ And sure enough, I saw him switch the ball and wind his arm back — and I was just ready for it,” Perine said.
