The Kansas City Chiefs won their seventh straight game Sunday night, beating the Denver Broncos 22-16. Travis Kelce was a big reason why.
The tight end finished with a game-high eight catches for a game-high 136 yards and scored the Chiefs’ only touchdown, a 20-yard reception that gave Kansas City the lead for good late in the third quarter.
Kelce has now topped 100 receiving yards in four of his last five games.
“We throw around the words automatic mismatch – and I’ve said it for years with Travis Kelce – but it is literally true,” Chiefs Radio color analyst Danan Hughes said on After Hours with Amy Lawrence. “He’s too fast for linebackers. He’s too shifty and too big for safeties. . . . He is just a dominant player.”
Indeed, when quarterback Patrick Mahomes isn’t targeting Tyreek Hill, he’s probably targeting Kelce, who is fourth in the NFL in receptions (82), second in yards (1,114) and sixth in touchdowns (eight).
“He and Patrick Mahomes are always on the same page,” Hughes said. “Some of the throws that Patrick makes to him, it’s almost like they have a walkie-talkie or something, that they’re talking to each other on the field because there’s literally no way that any quarterback should know that target that well. He’s the best in the business – absolutely the best in the business – at running after the catch and running after contact. Just a phenomenal talent and a complete talent. . . . He’s a true playmaker on the field. It’s just a treat to watch.”
The Chiefs (11-1) actually trailed Denver (4-8) 10-9 at halftime and 16-12 late in the third quarter. Hughes wasn’t surprised that the game was close throughout.
“It wasn’t unexpected,” he said. “Coming into this game, I had talked about it all week: the Broncos had a chip on their shoulders. They were embarrassed [last week]. They were a national-story embarrassment last week with their quarterback not being eligible, elevating a practice-squad wide receiver to play against the No. 1 defense in the NFL in the Saints.”
That didn’t go so well for the Broncos, who lost 31-3 to New Orleans in Week 12. Kendall Hinton finished 1-of-9 for 13 yards and two interceptions.
The Broncos also entered Sunday having lost 10 straight games to the Chiefs.
“All of those things piled up,” Hughes said. “That tests your ego, it tests your moxie, it tests everything that pretty much makes you an NFL player, so I knew that they would come out on this stage and perform well."
The Broncos have actually held the Chiefs to 3-of-18 on third down in two games this season. But they lost both games and have now lost 11 straight to their AFC West rival.
“Their defense has really done a solid job against the Chiefs this season,” Hughes said. “It wasn’t surprising that we would have a fight or that it would be a close game. . . . We’re fortunate that, although we settled for a lot of field goals early, we were able to [get a touchdown] when it was necessary.”
The Chiefs trail the Steelers (11-0) for the top seed in the AFC, but don’t expect them to get flustered. After all, deficits don’t exactly rattle Kansas City.
“Last year, they started to show that they were unfazed by any scenario on the field,” Hughes said. “In the playoffs, they came back in exceptional form in each of the playoff games, including the Super Bowl. . . . For us fans, there’s a lot of anxiety. But for those guys, they don’t seem fazed by being down or not clicking on all cylinders all throughout the game. . . . This was a game with missed opportunities. But I like the fact that you don’t hear the coaches or the players freak out during the game in those tight situations.”