Patrick Mahomes Praises Travis Kelce After Clutch Win: 'He Means the World to Me'

One of the NFL's best duos connected on a late third-down conversion in Week 14, and Mahomes recognizes how much Kelce has and continues to help him.

Nov 10, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates with quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) after scoring against the Denver Broncos during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Over the years, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have constructed resumes as two of the best to play their respective positions. Not only that, but the Kansas City Chiefs superstars will also go down in history as one of football's best all-time duos.

While that connection isn't quite as potent in 2024 as it has been in recent years, the two managed to create some magic late in Sunday night's win over the Los Angeles Chargers. With the offense driving down the field, Mahomes convinced head coach Andy Reid to opt for a passing play on a critical third-and-7. The rest is history, as Mahomes found Kelce on a third down for the first time all night and kicker Matthew Wright hit a field goal as time expired.

Following win No. 12 on the year for the Chiefs, Mahomes gave Kelce his flowers for helping him so much and continuing to lead by example in his age-35 campaign.

"He means the world to me, man," Mahomes said. "I mean, without getting emotional, he’s a guy who has really kind of made me who I am in my career and [he’s a] true leader on the football field. Everybody says ‘security blanket’ but someone that I can go to at any moment and he’s going to make a big play happen. As he’s gone throughout his career, he’s never dropped off as far as his work ethic and the way he leads, and I think that’s super important when you have a guy that’s going to have a gold jacket and he’s the hardest-working dude on the team.”

When the play needs to be made, 1️⃣5️⃣ makes the play. pic.twitter.com/TIEKFwmPgk

— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2024

Ironically, Kelce didn't execute that third-down conversion like he probably should've. Reid said after the game that the play was drawn up differently, and Mahomes confirmed that the future Hall of Fame tight end was supposed to run more of a corner route. In classic Kelce fashion, though, he freelanced and Mahomes adjusted accordingly. It's a rinse-and-repeat cycle that's taken place seemingly countless times since Mahomes took over as the Chiefs' starter in 2018.

Mahomes, too, deserves credit for extending the play and making something out of nothing. He doesn't take the chemistry he has with Kelce for granted, nor does he downplay how well both of them prepare for these moments. Mahomes believes Kelce makes him better in every aspect of the game.

“I think just both," Mahomes said. "Just in terms as a player, obviously, he’s someone that plays in the same wavelength that I do and it’s hard to do that. I think you see it takes guys time because it seems like from the first day, I’ve kind of been on that same page with Trav. Then, seeing him work every day, everybody sees the personality on the TV and stuff like that, but you don’t see that everyday work ethic that he has. I mean, he’s the guy that gets mad when they take him out of practice reps. That’s just the type of work ethic he has. Even for me, to come into the league and have a superstar player and see him work like that, it kind of showed me that I’m going to have to put that work ethic in if I want to get to that level.”

This was a much-needed reminder from two of the NFL's best. It's been a down year from a statistical standpoint for Mahomes, who is averaging a career-low yards per game mark and has only 20 passing touchdowns in 13 games. Kelce's volume numbers are back up after a slow start to the season, but he's lost a step athletically and is pacing for fewer yards and touchdowns than last year when he snapped his 1,000-yard receiving streak. Neither player is setting the stat sheet on fire, yet both of them are still dangerous.

That's especially true in the most demanding of situations, as evidenced by Week 14. As a result, Mahomes is glad to still have a generational talent like Kelce on the field.

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