Travis Kelce pulled a major case of deja vu for NFL fans with an in-game lateral that made Kansas City Chiefs fans go wild.
Facing a 3rd and 22, Patrick Mahomes threw a short pass to Kelce who helped draw attention to the center of the field. Kelce then flicked an underhanded lateral to Samaje Perine, who nearly picked up the first down himself.
The lateral counted this time, a year after Kelce’s overhanded throw to Kadarius Toney, which would have been a go-ahead touchdown against the Buffalo Bills, was called back due to an offsides penalty against Toney.
Before the play call, Mahomes told Kelce just to get the team into field goal range, with his tight end not listening.
‘It’s like I’m talking to Sterling,’ Mahomes said after the game, referencing his 3-year-old daughter with wife Brittany Mahomes.
Travis Kelce’s lateral to Samaje Perine gained 21 yards and nearly picked up a first down
Kelce has had a slow start to his season, but has been involved in the Chiefs offense on Monday
Kelce with the pitch on 3rd & 22 😂
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Then came the Kelce lateral, which Troy Aikman, who is on the broadcast for ESPN, did not think was a designed play.
A normal drive first-and-10 drive pushed Kansas City back to 2nd-and-34 after a Carson Steele fumble and a holding penalty.
A Mahomes completion to JuJu Smith-Schuster picked up 12 yards, setting up the long third down.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid did confirm it was a designed call, but did not reveal the name of the play.
‘We do it every day in practice, I can’t tell you the name of it,’ Reid said.
‘He’s out there like he’s playing basketball man, he’s looking to make a play,’ Jason Kelce said.
Ryan Clark compared Travis’ impromptu nature to former Baltimore Ravens defensive back Ed Reed, who was famous for lateraling interceptions to teammates to keep plays going.
On 4th-and-1, Kareem Hunt picked up the first down.
The drive ended with a 34-yard Harrison Butker field goal to give the Chiefs a 13-7 lead.
