Offensively speaking, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans on the backs of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce — sound familiar?
Kelce was especially dominant, finishing with 7 catches for 117 yards and 1 touchdown. Considering Mahomes only threw for 177 passing yards on the game, very few completions went to pass-catchers not named Kelce.
After the result was final, Mahomes caught up with ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters, and he had a reminder for any and all Kelce critics.
“You know 8-7 [Kelce] is going to show up in a big-time moment,” Mahomes said loud and proud. “Everyone is asking where Travis Kelce is at? He showed the world where he’s at.”
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes to Lisa Salters on Travis Kelce: “You know 8-7 is going to show up in a big-time moment. Everyone is asking where Travis Kelce is at? He showed the world where he’s at.”
Later, during his postgame press conference, the Chiefs quarterback added, “[that’s just] playoff Trav. He’s a leader. This is what he lives for — these moments.”
In his own way, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid echoed Mahomes’ sentiment on Kelce during his own postgame presser, joking with a smirk: “Yeah, [Kelce] can still play. He’s alright.”
Statistically speaking, Kelce had the worst regular season of his career in terms of receiving yardage — not counting his rookie campaign which was lost due to injury. He accumulated 823 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging 51.4 yards per game.
Going one step further, Kelce only logged one 100-yard performance this year prior to the Divisional Round — Week 9 versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And yet, as the truly legendary athletes often do, Kelce came through when it mattered most with his best performance of 2024-25.
Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Says Anytime He’s on the Field, He’s Still Got Something to Prove
While speaking with ESPN host Scott Van Pelt on the postgame show, Kelce noted that he’s always got something to prove.
“I feel like if you’re going to step out here on the football field, you’ve always got something to prove,” Kelce told Van Pelt. “I wish it was something like a flip of the switch [and] I could just turn it on like that, but I think it’s everyone in that building, all week long — really the past two-to-three weeks — figuring out how to get our bodies the best rest [and] ready for the playoffs and a run like this.”
Kelce added that the Chiefs came out “firing on all cylinders” on Saturday evening.
As for what’s next, Kelce said that Kansas City will set their sights on winning the AFC Championship game for now, with a one step at a time mentality.
“I think we’re fortunate that we’ve got a lot of great character guys in the building,” Kelce stated later, explaining how the Chiefs block out the three-peat noise. He noted that the players in the locker room have urged each other not to get “complacent” over the years.
Patrick Mahomes on Touchdown Pass to Travis Kelce: ‘You Find a Way in Those Big Moments’
During Mahomes’ aforementioned postgame press conference, he detailed his “faceplanting” touchdown pass to Kelce, and his response came down to one theme: “You find a way in those big moments, and that was a big moment.”
As always, Mahomes tipped his cap to Kelce too, adding that he was “glad that Trav was in that spot where I was able to get him the football.”
The Chiefs QB also admitted that as he threw the ball, he wasn’t sure whether it would be a touchdown or an interception, being that he was falling to the ground.
“But that’s something we worked on,” Mahomes concluded. “[At] the end of the day, we worked on that play, third and long, and we were able to [convert] that.”
Mahomes certainly didn’t play his best game, but as usual, he did just enough to secure the victory. And that’s all the Chiefs and their fans care about as they advance to the AFC Championship once again.
Comments
Patrick Mahomes Has Strong Response for Travis Kelce Critics After Chiefs-Texans