KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce may be best buddies, but even he refused to talk to the Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end at halftime Sunday in Minnesota.
“I don’t like to talk to Travis when he’s hurting, because he’s a mean guy,” Mahomes said.
Late in the second quarter, Kelce went down with what appeared to be a non-contact injury, sending Kansas City Chiefs fans on a wild hour-long roller coaster of emotions watching Sunday’s 27-20 win at the Vikings.
Longtime NFL fans know that such injuries often portend long-term rehabs.
An obviously unhappy Kelce was clearly in pain on the sideline before retreating to the locker room for X-rays.
Odds did not look great that Kelce would return this month much less Sunday afternoon, but return he did — and with vengeance — with athletic tape wrapped around his golden right shoe.
“I did not talk to him at halftime,” Mahomes said. “I just peeked in there and asked Rick, ‘How are we feeling?’ And he said we were going to try to go.”
Kelce, who had five catches for 22 yards before he was injured, jogged back out for the second half flanked by Chiefs trainers, but he didn't enter right away.
“He said, 'Just give me a minute; I’m going to get this thing right,'” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “So, he did a bunch of drills on his own there, just working with it. Our training staff was working with him during halftime.”
He sat out the opening drive of the third quarter but served as the focal point on the second drive — an 11-play, 74-yard march that doubled Kansas City’s lead.
Kelce had five catches for 45 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown, as the Chiefs’ lead reached 27-13 late in the third quarter.
He looked like his usual self, even picking a personal foul for a crack-back block only to freelance his route on third-and-long for a key conversion to make sure the mistake didn’t cost Kansas City points.
“A dog, man — he’s out there on one leg,” cornerback L'Jarius Sneed said.
The good news is that Kelce returned and played well.
The bad news is that the Chiefs face a short week, hosting the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football, so if the ankle swells up after the game, Kelce, who turned 34 on Thursday, has three fewer days to get treatment.
“I knew that he was trying to get back in, and Travis has the same mindset I do,” Mahomes said. “If you give him the window to try and get back in the game, he’s going to get back in the game. Competitor, man — that’s why he’s one of the greatest is that he’ll battle through stuff like that.”
And you're welcome for a tidbit about Kelce that didn't reference Taylor Swift. (Whoops, I blew it!)
CRANKING UP THE WATSON: Who had Justin Watson leading the Chiefs in receiving yards among the wide receivers through five games?
If you did, please let me know what the Powerball jackpot numbers will be, because I don’t believe you or you can see the future!
Watson has emerged as Kansas City’s most prolific downfield threat, bumping his per-reception average to a team-best 21.9 yards with two catches for 56 yards at Minnesota.
Watson’s 33-yard reception on the opening drive of the second half with Kelce sidelined was the key play in re-establishing the lead after the game was tied at halftime.
“They zero-blitzed and Pat put it up,” Reid said. “Watson went up and made a phenomenal play.”
Watson jokingly said he felt disrespected this week when teammates were talking about receivers who could go up and get a ball for Mahomes, but "my name wasn't mentioned mentioned."
"I want 15 to know that he can put it up there and I’ll go up and make the play anytime he throws it my way," Watson said. "Whether it’s a perfect pass or not, it’s perfect if it’s coming to 84, I want to make a play every time."
The ball was inches out of safety Camryn Bynum's hands, making it a catch that required immense concentration.
“He made a play for me,” Mahomes said.
Watson also had a 23-yard toe-tap reception along the sideline in the final half-minute before halftime.
The catch, which came three plays after Kelce left with the ankle injury, was reviewed and upheld. It led to a game-tying field goal as the second quarter expired.
MEDIOCRE MAHOMES NO MORE: Patrick Mahomes said he hasn’t played well this season, a statement magnified by a two-interception performance on Sunday Night Football at the New York Jets last week.
But he exorcized a few demons with an efficient — and, most importantly, turnover-free performance — in the win against the Vikings.
Mahomes went 31 of 41 for 281 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in Kansas City's first win at Minnesota since 1996, when Mahomes wasn't even 14 months old.
The Chiefs lost to the Vikings in 2003 and 2015.
Mahomes took some deep shots when they were there, including a 20-yard dime to Justyn Ross along the sideline in the first half and a perfect 33-yard bomb with two defenders in his face to Justin Watson in the second half.
But for the most part, Mahomes patiently worked underneath the Vikings’ zone coverage.
Kansas City’s offense converted 9 of 15 third downs and scored on 5 of their first 6 possessions.
The Chiefs have now won 10 straight road games against NFC opponents after losing their first two NFC road games with Mahomes as the starting QB.
Mahomes, 28, has now beaten every team — except Kansas City, of course — in the NFL. He's the first-ever QB to do it before age 30.
STREAKING CEO OF SACK NATION: Chris Jones has at least one sack in every game he’s played this season.
It’s all part of the fastest start to a season for Jones, who stayed away from the team and missed the season-opening loss against Detroit amid a contract holdout, in his All-Pro career.
Jones’ second-quarter sack of Kirk Cousins gave him 4 1/2 sacks on the season through five games, including the Lions game he missed.
That’s the most Jones has ever had through five games. His personal record before this season was 3 1/2 sacks in the first five games in 2017 and 2020.
In fact, Jones now has at least one sack in each of the last six games he’s played, dating back to last season. It is tied for the second-longest streak of his career (11 games, 2018).
“We’re still building,” Jones said. “It’s still early. Getting the chemistry along the D-line is still always a challenge. But most importantly, getting everyone going.”
The reworked one-year deal Jones signed after the Chiefs’ first game includes significant incentives based on how many sacks he finishes the season with.
FUMBLE RECOVERY-MANIA: Minnesota tight end Josh Oliver had a 15-yard catch and run on the opening play of the game, but Kansas City safety Justin Reid knocked the ball free.
Fellow Chiefs safety Bryan Cook corralled the loose ball for the defense’s fifth fumble recovery of the young season.
Kansas City only had nine fumble recoveries last season after tying for the NFL lead with 14 fumble recoveries in 2021.
The Chiefs had six fumble recoveries in 2020, so the emphasis on prying the football free has paid major dividends in 2023.
It was Cook’s second fumble recovery of the season, while Sneed, linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton each have one fumble recovery.
Second-year cornerback Trent McDuffie has forced two fumbles this season, while Drue Tranquill and rookie defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah also have forced a fumble in addition to Reid.
GRIDDY NOT GIDDY: Locking up Justin Jefferson was a focal point for the Chiefs’ secondary all week — and Kansas City did so better than any other defense this season.
Jefferson, who was shadowed for much of the game by Sneed and doubled on other routes, was targeted six times and finished with only three catches for 28 yards before exiting early in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury.
The targets, receptions and yards all were season-lows for Jefferson, who is a viral sensation for his “Griddy” touchdown dance/celebration.
It’s only the seventh time in 55 career games Jefferson has been limited to 30 yards or fewer.
FOOLED ON FOURTH DOWN AGAIN: For the second time in five games, an opposing team lined up for a punt only to snap the ball to an upback and convert on fourth down.
The first time, against Detroit in the Sept. 7 season opener, the Chiefs were caught napping, and Lions linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin rumbled for a 3-yard gain on fourth-and-2, which led to a touchdown.
Against the Vikings on fourth-and-2 near midfield Sunday, the snap went to safety Josh Metellus, who cut back across the formation as if running a counter before handing off to running back Ty Chandler on a reverse end-around for a 15-yard gain.
Kansas City learned from the Detroit play, which came deep in their own territory, and kept their defense on the field against Minnesota. But the Vikings' play design was too good.
“That was a sweet pay by them," Reid said. "We had a pretty good idea they were going to fake it, but they did a little reverse, a little double-double there, and they got us.”
UP NEXT: Three of Kansas City’s first five games this season have been against the NFC North.
The Chiefs finally open division play on a short week against the AFC West rival Denver Broncos.
It’s the first of three straight intra-division games, including two with the Broncos, before a showdown Nov. 5 with Miami — the only other team with one loss in the AFC already — in Frankfurt, Germany.
Kansas City (4-1) hosts Denver (1-4) for the first time in the Sean Payton era at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs have won 15 straight games against the Broncos, a win streak that has lasted more than eight years, dating back to September 2015 when Peyton Manning was still Denver's QB.
The game will air in the Kansas City market on KSHB 41.
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