The Kansas City Chiefs remained undefeated after an overtime thriller of a victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. And it was new wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins who stole the show with 8 receptions for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Not only did Hopkins make headlines on the field during his first full outing as a Chief, but he also caught a ton of attention off it following his first touchdown celebration of the night. After scoring, the star wideout performed a dance made famous by the iconic film: “Remember the Titans.”
DeAndre Hopkins hit the Remember the Titans celly after being traded from the Titans
THIS LEAGUE
This was obviously significant being that he was just traded to Kansas City from the Tennessee Titans. But Hopkins didn’t stop there.
After the game was over, the veteran wideout shared video of that celebration on X, including a one-character message for any and all doubters — “🤫” — or the “shushing face emoji.”
It’s unclear if this post was directed at his former organization, or just his haters in general. Either way, Hopkins’ breakout performance silenced those that were saying he’s washed up or past his prime.
Similar to running back Kareem Hunt or fellow wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, with the Chiefs, the former NFL superstar looks like a new man and yet another very serious weapon for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
DeAndre Hopkins Calls First Chiefs Win at Arrowhead Stadium a ‘Dream Come True’
Hopkins also spoke with ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge after his first victory at Arrowhead Stadium as a member of the Chiefs (shared via Brad Henson Productions).
“Honestly, words can’t describe [this night],” Hopkins told Rutledge and the ESPN broadcast. “Been patient. This is a dream come true to get my first win at a stadium like this, on a team like this. Just gotta keep building momentum.”
DeAndre Hopkins interview after the game 🔥
Hopkins credited the coaching staff with getting him up to speed so quickly since arriving in KC. But that’s not to discount his budding connection with Mahomes.
“I manifested this. I seen this already,” Hopkins replied, when asked about catching passes from his new quarterback. “My mom [and me], we knew this day would come. I’m just being present in the moment.”
It’s safe to say Hopkins is pretty happy to be a part of the Chiefs organization, and the Chiefs are no doubt happy to have him. It’s early, but this has the look of another winner of an acquisition for KC general manager Brett Veach.
Chiefs’ Andy Reid & Patrick Mahomes React to DeAndre Hopkins 2-Touchdown Showing vs. Buccaneers
As always, head coach Andy Reid and Mahomes both took the podium for a postgame press conference after Week 9. Reporters asked each of the key KC figures about Hopkins.
“First of all, he’s smart and he’s got a lot of experience,” Reid told the media. “So, we put more in [the gameplan] for him this week.”
“He’s just so good at winning one-on-one,” Mahomes agreed later on. “So, to be able to have him down in the red zone, third down situations, he does a good job of filling out and finding those windows — kind of like Travis [Kelce] does.”
That Kelce-like ability is also reminiscent of injured wide receiver Rashee Rice — except Hopkins has less explosiveness at this stage of his career.
Finally, Mahomes spoke about what it’s like to have a true contested-catch threat that can go up and secure jump balls.
“To have a guy like that [who] can go up and make that catch in a crowd of defenders, [that’s] a special type of player,” the two-time MVP signal-caller said. Like his head coach, Mahomes also made sure to point out that Hopkins is an “extremely intelligent” wide receiver above all else.
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Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins Drops 1-Character Post After Breakout Performance