When the Kansas City Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, they will be led by one of the best offensive duos in NFL history. But what makes Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce so special?
Since Patrick Mahomes took over as the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018, this team has been a model of consistency and offensive dominance. The result so far: six AFC Championshio Games in a row and on February 11th (live on RTL from 11:15 p.m.) the fourth Super Bowl in this period. The constants for this success, which is rarely seen in the NFL, are actually only two offensive players: Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce.
While Mahomes was a first-round pick by head coach Andy Reid in 2017, Kelce has been playing for KC since 2013 and was Reid’s second overall pick when he signed for Kansas City. He drafted him in Round 3 after the Chiefs even drafted left tackle Eric Fisher as a first overall pick in Round 1.
However, it was not surprising that Reid Kelce, of all people, would be chosen, who came into the draft with question marks due to previous disciplinary problems – poor school grades, a positive drug test for marijuana during his college days, which cost him his scholarship to Cincinnati. Reid already knew brother Jason Kelce from his time in Philadelphia. Reid had already drafted the center in the sixth round to the Eagles two years earlier.
From then on, Kelce developed relatively quickly into an accomplished receiving tight end, shaping a new generation of this position. In contrast to the classic tight end, who due to his size and mass is a mixture of offensive tackle and wide receiver, who is mainly positioned “in-line”, i.e. directly next to the offensive line, Kelce played very early despite his stature (1 .96 m, 113 kg) very often far from the O-line, in the slot or even on the outside. His agility and good basic speed made it possible.
Chiefs: Kelce becomes a weapon with Mahomes
However, Kelce only became a real offensive weapon when he teamed up with Mahomes, who took over from his predecessor and game manager Alex Smith in 2018. So as a quarterback who manages the game, minimizes mistakes and distributes the ball more quickly, but doesn’t provide much added value when the offensive system reaches its limits.
Mahomes, on the other hand, creates plays himself when he has to. Reid has always given his offense certain freedom when it comes to spontaneity and creativity. Free spirits are expressly welcome.
With Mahomes and Kelce, he has two protagonists who basically understand each other blindly on the pitch and where one basically always knows what the other is doing next. Especially when a move breaks down, you realize how valuable the two of them are when they play together.
This was seen in all its glory again in the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens. The most remarkable scene was probably a third attempt in which Mahomes came under a lot of pressure and was already falling when he got rid of the ball and Kelce caught it with a dive – in a place on the field that was not intended for the play .
In general, Kelce played big against Baltimore and had his best playoff game since 2020 with eleven caught passes (11 targets) for 116 yards and one touchdown. In these playoffs he has now scored three touchdowns in three games and has broken two playoff records. On the one hand, Mahomes and Kelce are now the most successful quarterback-receiver duo in playoff history with 18 touchdown passes – Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were overtaken (15) – and on the other hand, Kelce now has 156 receptions in the playoffs and thus overtook none other than probably the best wide receiver in NFL history, Jerry Rice (151). And his playoff touchdown record (22) is also within reach.
The two get along very well off the pitch anyway. This is underlined not only by one of the new commercials from the insurance company State Farm, in which both appear together. Recently, the better halves of the two stars have been seen cheering together in the box at Chiefs games – Brittany Mahomes and Taylor Swift have apparently now become “besties”.
Mahomes and Kelce have their sights set on Brady and Gronk
On the field, Mahomes and Kelce have already won two Super Bowls in three appearances. Brady and Gronk achieved three triumphs together in five participations – statistically four and six, but Gronk was not there in Super Bowl LI due to injury. With a triumph in Vegas, Mahomes and Kelce could also catch up with this legendary duo in terms of Super Bowl triumphs on the pitch – Joe Montana and Rice, in turn, have already caught up (2 joint titles).
So it’s not hard to say that in these two we can admire probably the best duo in playoff history. Overall, Mahomes and Kelce are certainly still missing a few touchdowns, but you look at them only the postseason, there is certainly no one left that the two of them have to hide from.
Marcus Blumberg