Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and TE Travis Kelce are two peas in a pod, and the team’s Week 14 win over the Los Angeles Chargers further emphasized that fact.
Kelce recorded five catches on six targets for 45 yards on Sunday night. None of the receptions were more important than his improvised first-down reception in the fourth quarter that helped the team ice the game. Mahomes did what he’s known for, buying just enough time to make magic happen. Kelce also did what he’s known for, improvising his route to find the open space and make a play.
In the process, he became the fastest tight end to ever reach 12,000 receiving yards, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Chiefs star Tony Gonzalez. Asked about Kelce’s achievement, Mahomes had to stop his emotions from welling up.
“He [Travis Kelce] means the world to me, man,” Mahomes told reporters after the game. “I mean, without getting emotional – he’s a guy who has really kind of made me who I am in my career and(he’s a) true leader on the football field. Someone – everybody says ‘security blanket’ but someone that I can 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. When you have a guy that’s going to have a gold jacket, and he’s the hardest working dude on the team.”
Mahomes was asked to elaborate on what he meant, Mahomes took a deep dive into what makes Kelce such a special teammate in his ripe old age of 35.
“Just in terms as a player, obviously, he’s [Travis Kelce] someone that – he plays in the same wavelength that I do,” Mahomes explained. “And it’s hard to do that, and I think you see (that) it takes guys time because it seems like from the first day I’ve kind of been on that same page with Trav.
“Then, seeing him work every day, everybody sees the personality on the TV 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. That’s just the type of work ethic (that) he has. Even for me, to come into the league and have a superstar player and see him 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.”
Not only has Kelce led a Hall of Fame career himself, but he’s inspired greatness in perhaps the greatest quarterback to ever grace the NFL gridiron. It’s a testament to the type of player and person he has become throughout his NFL career. He’s truly the spark behind a lot of the team’s recent successes, and if Mahomes’ comments hold true, he’ll inspire plenty of success after he rides off into the sunset, whenever that may come.
