Subscribe
Follow Us
The Kansas City Cheifs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 17-10 in Week 4 and superstar tight end Travis Kelce had his first excellent game of the 2024 season, leading the team with seven catches for 89 yards. After the game, both head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes talked about how the soon-to-be 35-year-old showed up in a big way when the team needed him and why the TE was able to finally have a big game.
“Yeah. They played quite a little bit of zone out there and Kelce did a nice job of just getting in windows,” Reid said postgame. “Then when they did play man, he was able to do a nice job there. There wasn't as much double team as maybe you've seen or settling on him as much as he's seen, so he did very good.”
“Well, I really don't care what anybody thinks,” Reid continued. “I watch what the defense does and how they respect him. I take it off of that and I watch Trav every day, so I get to see him and how he works. He never wants to come out in practice, and the game, he's all in all the time. So, I don't know, I don't worry about all that.”
Mahomes also talked about Kelce's big afternoon and why they needed him in the Chiefs-Chargers Week 4 tilt more than the previous games.
“I think it's a mixture of everything,” Mahomes said. “Obviously, with Rashee Rice going out early, you've got to put Kelce back in that situation where he is getting a high volume of catches. And then the Chargers were taking away some of the outside stuff, leaving the middle of the field open and we were able to get it to Trav in some of those zone coverages. But I mean 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 and that's what he did today.”
The biggest takeaway from Mahomes' comments, though, is that fans will likely see a lot more of Kelce moving froward than may probably expected this season.
Article Continues Below
The Chiefs need the old Travis Kelce more than ever after injuries
Despite eschewing big-name, big-money weapons since trading Tyreek Hill in 2022, the Chiefs have built up a nice stable of young weapons for Patrick Mahomes over the last few seasons. However, with wide receiver Hollywood Brown and running back Isaiah Pacheco on IR and WR Rashee Rice likely out for the season now with a torn ACL, the cupboard is starting to get pretty bare.
Kansas City now features formerly-out-of-the-league Kareem Hunt, veteran journeyman Samaje Perine, and undrafted rookie Carson Steele at running back and uninspiring names like JuJu Smith-Schuster, Skyy Moore, Justin Watson, and Mecole Hardman at WR with exciting (but small) first-round rookie Xavier Worthy.
With Mahomes' best runners and pass-catchers dropping like flies, the team will need Kelce earlier than usual this season. After the first few games, it seemed like the tight end and the team was content to let him slowly work his way into the 2024 campaign. However, with all these injuries, it looks like he will be a key cog in the offense well before the playoffs now.
