The Kansas City Chiefs won another game in the closing moments in Week 14 versus the Los Angeles Chargers, and it was KC’s dynamic duo — quarterback Patrick Mahomes II and tight end Travis Kelce — who got the job done once again.
Although, according to Mahomes, it took Kelce going completely rogue to convert the final pass play that allowed the Chiefs to run the clock down to one second before attempting a game-winning field goal.
“We expected some man [coverage], but we had plans for if it was zone [coverage],” Mahomes told reporters on the evening of December 8, breaking down the nine-yard reception from 3rd and 7. “They did a good job of covering it, and then Trav [Kelce] just played ball and got himself open.”
When a follow-up asked what Mahomes meant by Kelce “playing ball” to get free and if he expected his favorite target to be where he was on the field, the two-time NFL MVP revealed that the future Hall of Fame tight end decided to improvise and run his own route.
“Um, he was supposed to run a corner route,” the Chiefs QB noted with a smile. “It is what it is.”
Over the years, Mahomes and Kansas City have learned that it’s better not to question Kelce when he goes off-script. In fact, that’s typically when the superstar TE has done a lot of his best work over the years.
“I went through my reads. How Trav [Kelce] released, it looked like a corner [route] and then [I have] the halfback and a couple of other guys [as potential targets],” Mahomes added later. “And then, as I went to run, I just saw [No.] 8-7 just sitting right there in the middle of the field open, so I just fired it to him.”
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Says He Was ‘Content’ to Take a Knee & Kick Field Goal vs. Chargers
A member of the KC media also asked Mahomes if he was “content” with taking a knee and trusting in the field goal unit to try and secure the victory — or if he preferred to go and win it himself.
A more measured Mahomes replied that he was indeed “content” with head coach Andy Reid’s decision after the final first down to Kelce.
“I was content to take a knee,” he said. “We could have maybe got it a little bit closer, but when you’re in that range, you’re expected to make the field goal — and we trust in our kickers, we trust in our special teams.”
“That’s a huge part of what we do every single day, and we were able to make it and get the win,” Mahomes concluded.
Patrick Mahomes Comments on Travis Kelce Breaking Another Tight End Record During Chiefs vs. Chargers
Kelce became the “fastest” tight end to reach 12,000 career receiving yards in Week 14, according to the NFL on X. After the game, Mahomes discussed this accomplishment and what Kelce means to him as a player throughout his career.
“He means the world to me, man,” Mahomes said, regarding Kelce. “Without getting, like, emotional, he’s a guy that has really kind of made me who I am in my career. [He’s] a true leader on the football field; everybody says security blanket but [Kelce is] someone that I can just go to at any moment and he’s going to make a big play happen.”
“As he’s gone throughout his career, he’s never dropped off as far as his work ethic and the way he leads, and I think that’s super important,” the Chiefs QB went on. “[Especially] when you have a guy that’s going to [earn] a gold jacket and he’s the hardest working guy on the team.”
Mahomes added that Kelce plays on the same “wavelength” as he does.
“Seeing him work every day, everybody sees the personality on T.V. and stuff like that, but you don’t see that everyday work ethic that he has. I mean, he’s the guy that gets mad when they take him out of practice reps,” Mahomes explained. “That’s just the type of work ethic he has. Even for me, to come into the league and [see] a superstar player work like that, it kind of showed me that I’m going to have to put that work ethic in if I want to get to that level.”
Kelce led all Chiefs pass-catchers with 5 receptions for 45 yards against the Chargers. Mahomes targeted nine different players on the night, completing at least one attempt to eight of them.
