Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.
JC Olivera/Getty ImagesPatrick Mahomes gushed about his friendship with Travis Kelce after the pair connected for a decisive finish in the Kansas City Chiefs’ game-winning drive on Sunday, December 8.
“He means the world to me, man,” Mahomes, 29, told reporters of Kelce following the team’s 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. “Without getting emotional, he’s a guy who really made me who I am in my career.”
In the closing minutes of Sunday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mahomes found Kelce, 35, for a vital third-down completion that set up a kicker Matthew Wrightthe game-winning 31-yard field goal.
“A true leader on the football field,” Mahomes continued of Kelce. “Somebody I can just go to at any moment and he’s going to make a big play. As he has done throughout his career, he has never faltered in his work ethic and the way he leads. I think that’s extremely important.”
Football tight ends function to protect their quarterback in the middle of NFL plays, and few do it better than Travis Kelce. Kelce has been the Kansas City Chiefs’ top tight end since 2013, four years before Patrick Mahomes signed with Missouri at quarterback. “Obviously I come here at the beginning of (…)
In Kelce’s 12th year in the NFL, Mahomes called the tight end “the hardest-working dude on the team.”
“He plays on the same wavelength as me,” Mahomes added. “It’s hard to do that. It takes time guys. But from day one I was kind of on the same page with Trav. Seeing him work every day – everybody sees the personality on TV and stuff like that – but you don’t see that everyday work ethic that he has. He’s the guy who gets mad when he’s taken out of practice routes.
Despite the praise, it the season was not perfect for a picture for Mahomes and Kelce, who have still only connected on two touchdowns as their schedule enters its final stretch.
Travis Kelce weighs in on the ongoing criticism surrounding his recent performance on the football field. “We’re finding ways to win games and we’re not playing our best football,” the 34-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end admitted on the Wednesday, Sept. 25, episode of the “New Heights” podcast. “Anyone can clean it.” While (…)
Kelce, who had five receptions for 45 yards on Sunday, recently told of the disappointment he has felt his lack of production.
“What I’m proud of is once we get into that red zone, man,” Kelce said on the Wednesday, Dec. 4 episode of his “New Heights” podcast. “I’m getting a little hungrier. Right now, for whatever reason this year, I just can’t find my way into the end zone. I’m just not on the same page as Pat. It can get frustrating. It can get frustrating as hell. That’s for damn sure.
Kelce’s next touchdown catch would break a Hall of Fame record Tony Gonzalez for most receiving touchdowns in Kansas City Chiefs history.
The Chiefs return to action on Sunday, December 15 against the Cleveland Browns.
