Travis Kelce didn’t have the best season this time around. For most of the regular season, Patrick Mahomes had to depend on other receivers as rival defenses figured out how to contain Kelce. This has Michael Irvin claiming that the Chiefs have surrounded Mahomes with enough weapons that they don’t even need Kelce to win games anymore.
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For the first time in the Patrick Mahomes Era, it doesn’t appear Kelce must dominate for the Chiefs to advance in the postseason. Michael Irvin expressed confidence this is the case on Monday’s episode of Speak.
“Mastermind Andy Reid… ‘Travis Kelce… he’s not having a great game. Let’s use him now to go and run pick routes for Xavier Worthy’… they’re finding efficient ways to get players involved. They know how to use everybody… we’re going to see this for a while. Even without Travis Kelce, I still think they’re going to win games and the Super Bowl.”
The Buffalo Bills are accustomed to seeing Travis Kelce post gaudy numbers against them in the postseason. Kelce recorded 26 receptions, 289 yards, and five touchdowns across his first three playoff games versus the Bills. He had only two catches for 19 yards in the AFC Championship. The Kansas City Chiefs defeated Buffalo anyway and advanced to Super Bowl LIX with a 32-29 victory.
Kelce saw fewer targets (4) than Xavier Worthy (7) and Marquise Brown (5) on Sunday. His 7-117-1 line in the divisional round indicates he’s still capable of excellent playoff performances.
Kelce had recorded at least five receptions and 70 yards in 14 straight playoff games prior to Sunday’s contest. His 19 yards were the fewest he has ever posted in a playoff game. Despite this, Kansas City cracked the 30-point mark for the first time since Nov. 26, 2023, in the AFC Championship. Their output ended a 28-game stretch in which they had failed to reach 30 points.
Paul Pierce: the Chiefs always “come up with critical” plays
The Chiefs scoring their most points of the season with Kelce holding a secondary role in their offense seemingly proves Irvin’s point. Facing Kansas City is like playing a game of Whack-A-Mole. Whenever you eliminate one mole, another pops up to take its place.
Xavier Worthy has stepped up in Rashee Rice’s stead. Kareem Hunt has, for all intents and purposes, replaced Isaiah Pacheco as the Chiefs’ top running back.
Noah Gray has even functioned as Mahomes’ primary tight-end target at times. Regardless of who’s on the field, the Chiefs continue making the plays necessary to win. Paul Pierce complimented them for doing so after Irvin’s comments.
“You always are going to have the lead versus Kansas City. And then at some point, they’re gonna come up with a critical score and a critical stop… the defense [on] fourth and inches… [and] the two point conversions… they haven’t went over 30 all year long, and to go back to the Super Bowl, they put up [32] points… you can never just put your finger on one thing with them.”
Kansas City has prevailed in an NFL-record 17 straight one-possession games heading into Super Bowl LIX. Chiefs Kingdom is hoping they’ll beat the Philadelphia Eagles by a healthy amount, but oddsmakers don’t expect them to. FanDuel Sportsbook currently has Kansas City favored to defeat Philadelphia by 1.5 points. Even a one-point win, though, would give the Chiefs their three-peat.
