It seems like a never-ending story at this point, but the Kansas City Chiefs once again find themselves in the hunt for yet another Super Bowl trophy. As someone who grew up in the 2000s and 2010s, I can say definitively that the modern day Chiefs are what the New England Patriots were with Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck for the last two decades. A Hall of Fame quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, and the best coach in the game in Andy Reid, have made Kansas City the envy of the football world for the last seven years.
While Brady and Belicheck deserve a lot of the credit for their incredible dynasty, they probably wouldn’t have been quite as good without some of the outstanding playmakers that they had over those years. Guys like Troy Brown, Corey Dillon, and Deion Branch had large roles in their offenses during that early run from 2001 to 2005.
Perhaps one of the most important parts of their later years that helped them win Super Bowl XLIX in 2014 and LI in 2016 was tight end Rob Gronkowski, also soon to be a Hall of Famer. He helped Brady and the Bucs win Super Bowl LIII in 2018, too.
The Chiefs have their own version of Gronk in tight end Travis Kelce, who will also be enshrined five years after he retires into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While he is getting up there in age at 35, he still led the Chiefs in receiving this season with 823 yards and three touchdowns. While that certainly isn’t close to his best season, he has still been productive as Mahomes’ security blanket, and he always steps up his game in the playoffs. He’ll be critical to the success of Kansas City this postseason.
I would be remiss not to mention his girlfriend, singer and songwriter Taylor Swift, who is one of the most famous people on the planet. Now, I am not someone who puts a ton of stock in these novelty trends, but some people actually think her appearing at a game makes the Chiefs more likely to win. Perhaps the NFL wants that to happen, as she brings in a lot of ratings just for being who she is, and the more times they can show her on screen the more people watch. In games she appears in, the Chiefs are a pretty remarkable 17-3 straight up.
Right now, over at BetMGM, Kelce is +150 to score a touchdown. That is giving him a ton of respect considering he has only scored three of them all season, but it is Travis Kelce, and his past performances certainly are influencing that line. His receiving yards prop is set at 52.5 yards for this game, and he is projected to be the leading receiver for the Chiefs against this Texans defense. It is hard to argue with that since Kansas City has had trouble getting any of their receivers to step up all year, and Derek Stingly Jr. will be covering the outside.
It won’t be easy to put up yardage on the Texans, who rank 6th in passing yards allowed per game, but perhaps scoring a touchdown will be the play here. Despite all of the good things Houston has done defensively, they rank just 27th in red zone defense. When the opposing teams get down there, they haven’t been able to stop them, and Kelce is a monster in the red zone.
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