Chiefs prediction: Don’t look for the next quick throw to Kelce from the 1 until 2022
That Travis Kelce 1-yard touchdown reception last week at New Orleans, where Patrick Mahomes gets off the pass almost as quickly as he took the snap? Where have we seen that before?
Mahomes knew, and he wasn’t even with the Chiefs.
“It’s been in the playbook (since) I think before I was even here,” Mahomes said. “I think you remember Dontari Poe with his catch that he got in the end zone with, so I mean it goes all way back to then.”
Indeed, Poe, the defensive tackle who Andy Reid loved to involve in innovative plays or moments, lined up in a bunch formation to the right, caught a pass from Alex Smith and rammed into the end zone at Oakland against the Raiders in 2016.
Two years later, Mahomes and Kelce ran the same play at Denver.
Three snaps have produced three touchdowns, all on the road in games every other year. Don’t look for it in Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons at Arrowhead Stadium, but keep it on the radar for 2022.
Kickoff: Noon Sunday, Arrowhead Stadium
TV//radio: FOX (Ch. 4), WDAF (106.5 FM)
Line: Chiefs by 10 1/2
Blair Kerkhoff’s prediction: Chiefs 30-23
The Chiefs win but don’t seem to put teams away no matter the quality of the competition. The Falcons (4-10) are having a lousy season, have already fired their head coach (is this Eric Bieniemy’s landing spot?) and lug a three-game losing streak to Kansas City. But Matt Ryan has won an MVP, and the Falcons led a good Buccaneers team by 17 at halftime last week.
It’s difficult to see a Chiefs loss here, but this could be one of those games in which they jump out to a multi-score lead and Ryan passes them into a respectable score in the second half. A Chiefs triumph would be a club-record 14th for the regular season and clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. The home team doesn’t lack incentive.