It can’t be called a sprint. It can’t be called a run.
Perhaps a light jog is the best way to describe it.
Whatever you’d term it, it came from both the most predictable and improbable person on the field.
In the Kansas City Chiefs’ 23–14 win over the Houston Texans in the AFC divisional round at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, the game’s longest play from scrimmage came on a 49-yard catch-and-stroll in the second quarter by Travis Kelce, a 35-year-old tight end who might struggle outrunning a parked bus at this point.
“Young Kelce scores that. He had a huge game. Obviously, he’s one of the leaders on the team, a guy to pick up the offense when it’s down. He’s our motivator guy. He had a hell of a game.”Xavier Worthy on Kelce
“Young Kelce scores that,” laughed first-year receiver Xavier Worthy after the game. “He had a huge game. Obviously, he’s one of the leaders on the team, a guy to pick up the offense when it’s down. He’s our motivator guy. He had a hell of a game.”
On the play, Kelce caught the ball at Houston’s 42-yard line, shook rookie safety Calen Bullock with a cutback move six yards later, and then ran through an Azeez Al-Shaair arm tackle at the 30-yard line before running out of gas at the six.
The big gainer set up Kansas City’s first touchdown and a 13–3 lead, with Kareem Hunt following a strong Kelce block into the end zone three plays later.
“It’s a day one install kind of play,” said Kelce, who finished with seven catches on eight targets for 117 yards and a touchdown. “They botched the coverage. Our tight end room has been harping on getting more than just what the play gets you. Break a tackle, get more yards and be great.”
Fittingly, it was a simple play made much larger by a player who is arguably on the Mount Rushmore of all-time postseason performers.
Including Saturday’s effort, Kelce now has 14 consecutive games of at least 70 receiving yards in the playoffs, doubling up anybody else in league history. In those games, he has amassed an unfathomable 120 receptions for 1,388 yards and 14 touchdowns.
In that span, his worst game came in last year’s AFC wild-card win over the Miami Dolphins, when in sub-zero temperatures, he was limited to seven catches and 71 yards.
For Kelce, his 49-yard spectacle was the first of two spectacular plays he was involved in. In the fourth quarter, with Kansas City leading 13–12, Patrick Mahomes found Kelce while being sacked, zipping the ball through a hole in the Texans’ coverage for the eventual game-winning touchdown.
“We were third-and-long in the red zone, but we had talked about that exact play,” Mahomes said. “Travis just had to get over that linebacker so I had to buy a little bit of time. I stepped up in the pocket and was able to get enough on it to get it in the end zone. That was a big play in the game and we needed to get in the end zone after that long drive they had.”
Earlier in the drive, Kansas City faced a third-and-6 at its own 23-yard line after allowing Houston to score on a drive consuming 10 minutes and 24 seconds. Instead of a disastrous three-and-out, Mahomes found Kelce for 12 yards, moving the sticks.
Of Kelce’s seven receptions, only two failed to result in a first down or a touchdown.
“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games,” Mahomes said. “That’s how simple it is, and he’s one of those guys. He doesn’t let the moment get any bigger than what it is. He just goes out there and executes at a high level, just like he does in the regular season. He just does that at a little higher intensity.”
For Kelce, it’s nothing new. He’s a three-time Super Bowl champion, and he will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s arguably the greatest tight end to ever play, and after having one 100-yard game this season, he saved his best for the most crucial of moments.
This wasn’t supposed to be the path Kansas City traveled when general manager Brett Veach put the roster together this offseason. Second-year receiver Rashee Rice was going to be the focal point of the offense. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown was going to be a significant force on the outside, unburdening Worthy while the rookie learned the pro game and coach Andy Reid’s offense.
Kelce was always going to be a major part of the unit, of course, but he wasn’t going to be relied upon so heavily anymore. Well, so much for best-laid plans and all that.
Now, the Chiefs go into their seventh consecutive AFC championship game, two wins away from becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era to win three straight titles.
To get there, they’ll need vintage Kelce twice more.
The good news for Kansas City? He doesn’t need to sprint. A light jog will do.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Brushes Aside Father Time With Catch-and-Stroll Moment.