Since his October 5 birthday, Travis Kelce has had the finest three-game run of his career. His most memorable performance came on Sunday during the Los Angeles Chargers game, when he caught 12 passes for 179 yards and one score.
Andy Reid, the coach of the Chiefs, said that it’s because Kelce is improving with age. He conceded that the Taylor Swift influence may potentially be at play. This season, she attended her fourth Kansas City Chiefs game, and in her presence, Kelce has averaged almost twice as many yards as in her absence.
Reid said, “Taylor can stay around all she wants,” after the Chiefs’ 31-17 victory. In any case, with 31 receptions in the three games against the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, and Chargers, Kelce has performed better than at any other point in his stellar career.
“You can anticipate what he will run, but it won’t stop you,” said Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
As quarterback Patrick Mahomes noted, Kelce sometimes isn’t sure what route he’s going to take prior to the play. He can change his route in response to particular coverages, as he did many times against the Chargers.
“The main thing is the way he’s able to recognize coverage and adjust on the fly,” Mahomes said. We discuss it often, but you shouldn’t take it for granted. He nearly seems to be playing Madden. He performed an excellent job since he can read the coverage, stop in the windows, stay open, and always be in agreement with me.
“It seems like he does it week in and week out and that’s why he’s the player that he is and he’ll be a Hall of Famer one day.”
Kelce did not play in the Chiefs’ season opener against the Detroit Lions last month. In the six games that have passed, he has 48 receptions, which is tied for the most by any tight end in NFL history during the player’s first six games.
Mahomes wasn’t arguing against the fact that Kelce has become better with age, at least in certain areas.
“The way he’s able to recognize coverages is probably even better,” Mahomes said. “He’s played against every single team and every coverage and every way to try to take him away and so he’s able to recognize that and then dissect it on the fly.”
Mahomes couldn’t help but make a lighthearted jab at Kelce. In the second quarter, the two connected on a 53-yard connection, with Kelce collecting a short throw and running it to the Chargers’ 6 before being tackled.
Still, the Chiefs scored on the next play.
“Younger Trav would have scored on that one touchdown,” Mahomes said. “I will say so. Other than that, however, I believe he’s doing a fantastic job of figuring out how to be vulnerable and play these incredible games.”
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