Chiefs turn to Travis Kelce in crunch time vs. Chargers: ‘You’ve got to be accountable’
The Chiefs, trailing the Los Angeles Chargers by one point, faced this decision on the first snap after the two-minute warning:
Run the ball and burn clock, but probably give L.A. and quarterback Justin Herbert more than a minute to answer if the Chiefs scored ...
Or, on third-and-7, be aggressive, go for a first down that would allow the Chiefs to drain the clock and attempt a short field goal for another final-snap victory.
The Chiefs chose the latter option. They went into attack mode, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce leading the way, and it paid off. Their 9-yard connection set up Matthew Wright’s 31-yard field goal, which bounced off the left upright and in for a 19-17 triumph as time expired.
For Kelce, the moment was about belief.
“We’re always trying to better ourselves,” the superstar tight end said. “In some situations we haven’t been perfect, but we haven’t stopped believing. There’s an extra ability to dig a little deeper, have that much confidence, play fast and know that, when the team needs you the most, you’ve got to be accountable.”
The Chiefs needed Kelce in that moment, and he, as he almost always has in his career, came through. On a night when he surpassed 12,000 career receiving yards, doing it in his 172nd game — fastest for a tight end in NFL history — Mahomes seemed especially grateful for his favorite target.
“He means the world to me,” Mahomes said. “Without getting emotional, he’s kind of the guy who made me who I am in my career. A true leader on the football field.”
Kelce, in his 12th season, continues to deliver. With his five receptions for 45 yards, he leads the Chiefs with 80 catches, entering the week in the NFL’s top five.
His yards per catch has dropped. He’s at 8.5 yards this season and averages 12.2 for his career.
But he remains the most reliable target for the team that owns the NFL’s best record at 12-1 and with Sunday’s victory captured its ninth straight AFC West championship. Kelce, defensive tackle Chris Jones and long-snapper James Winchester are the only players who have been with the Chiefs for all of them.
“They’re all special,” Kelce said. “On top of that, it’s another step, another check mark for the list of goals we set before the season.
“It always feels good, but at the same time it’s just another step.”
The division title means Kelce and his teammates are guaranteed at least one home game in the AFC playoffs. If the Chiefs are the No. 1 seed, they’ll get a first-round bye and be the home team in the Divisional Round.
Last season, as the No. 3 seed, they played a home game in the Wild Card Round and spent the next two weeks on the road before winning Super Bowl LVIII. Kelce came up huge in the postseason and is the NFL’s career leader in playoff receptions.
“He’s like a security blanket, somebody I can go to in any moment,” Mahomes said. “He’s going to make a big play happen.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 6:30 AM.