Chiefs Veteran Travis Kelce Leads Team To Sixth Straight AFC Championship Game
Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates after scoring a 22-yard touchdown against the … [+]
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Facing their biggest road test of the Patrick Mahomes era, the Kansas City Chiefs went back to their ol’ well.
The longest-tenured-Chiefs player, tight end Travis Kelce, responded with a game-high 75 receiving yards — his most since a Dec. 10 game, which was also against the Buffalo Bills — and his first two-touchdown game of the year while leading Kansas City to a thrilling 27-24 win at Buffalo.
“We always emphasize getting Travis the ball,” Mahomes said. “He did a great job of getting himself open.”
Kelce stepped up when it mattered most despite some detractors.
It was his first season since 2015 in which he failed to record 1,000 receiving yards, and some said he had lost a step. Retirement rumors have even swirled for the 34-year-old star after longtime sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya’s comments went viral.
But Kelce not only keyed the divisional playoff win against the Bills, he also broke records.
His touchdown to cap the first drive of the third quarter gave him and Mahomes 16 touchdowns — the most between any quarterback-to-receiver combination in NFL postseason history. It surpassed Tom Brady’s 15 touchdowns to tight end Rob Gronkowski.
“Passing anything that has Brady and Gronk in it is special because those are two of the greatest players,” Mahomes said. “To be mentioned in that and passing that, you appreciate that, and it speaks to Travis and his work.”
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The Bills used cornerback Siran Neal against Kelce with another defender over the top.
But once they started devoting more attention to Kelce, Mahomes said it opened things up for other players, including wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who had one of his best games of the season.
