KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Certain elements of the Chiefs' offense this season have made coach Andy Reid smile and laugh more than once.
“He’s been doing it for a few years now,” Reid said Monday of tight end Travis Kelce. “We do it every day in practice. This isn't something that just gets thrown around on game day. It's something we do. As long as it's done, everything is fine.”
Kelce is a 12-year veteran with a pretty solid resume. He is a future Hall of Famer, three-time Super Bowl champion, and the Chiefs' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns (76, tied with Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez).
But this season, Kelce has added another dimension to his game. He perfected the horizontal pass.
During the Chiefs' win over the rival Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, Kelce's most memorable highlight was throwing the ball backwards to running back Samaje Perine, avoiding a tackle in the middle of the field and hitting Samaje Perine. That's when Perine got the crucial first down.
“Yes, right place, right time,” Kelce said on Wednesday's episode of “New Heights,” a podcast he co-hosts with his brother Jason. “I'm glad it worked out. … It was just an instinct I had and I was lucky to get a fresh down.”
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Kelce hasn't had any trouble with Reed this season. That's because he successfully executed two lateral attempts, each time throwing the ball to Perine to help the Chiefs reach the red zone.
“It started off as a joke,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said of Kelce's combination of skill and audacity. “Now, this is what happened.” thing. As long as he accomplishes that, the coaches are going to keep him doing it.”
Return of Lateral!! ️ pic.twitter.com/tdHOScHOLH
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 29, 2024
that thing He helped the Chiefs score their only touchdown against the Raiders in the second quarter, just before the two-minute warning. On a third-and-10 just outside the red zone, Mahomes completed a short pass to Kelce, who immediately made eye contact with Perine, who released him flat out of the backfield. Kelce jumped forward in an unusual move and threw a pass as if it were Mahomes, giving Perine a perfect spiral.
When Perine finished the play with a 15-yard gain, the Arrowhead Stadium crowd roared. Perine acknowledged Kelce, pointing to Kelce like an NBA player would acknowledge a point guard after an assist on a fast break.
“Remember, he was a (high school) quarterback,” Amazon Prime analyst Kirk Herbstreit said of Kelce after the highlight. “It's a no-look (pass). It's just a feeling. You play around with it in practice and you get really comfortable with it, and then all of a sudden you show it and you can do it in a game. That ball was thrown perfectly. .”
Three plays later, Mahomes threw a perfect lob pass to receiver Justin Watson for a 6-yard touchdown.
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After the game, some analysts and fans wondered if Kelce's lateral was intended as part of the Chiefs' play call.
“It's not designed at all,” Mahomes said. “(Kelce) is the only one who does that. I know sometimes it looks like it's (rigged), but it's more like he's been in this offense for a long time and running different routes. It means knowing where the players are.”
Mahomes said he hopes Kelce can gain at least eight yards on this play and convince Reid to keep the offense on the field for a fourth down.
A similar scenario occurred in early October when the Chiefs beat the New Orleans Saints. In the second quarter, the Chiefs faced a third-and-21 snap. Mahomes threw a short pass to Kelce, who drew three defenders in the middle of the field before making an underhand pitch to Perine.
Kelce on the pitch in the 3rd and 22nd innings 😂
📺: #NOvsKC on ESPN
📱: Streaming #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/PW8dXNhIrx— NFL (@NFL) October 8, 2024
“When I saw that, I thought, “It’s gone!”Right guard Trey Smith said after the game. “It's classic Kelce, making plays when the team needs them. That was really crazy, dude. Every time you see something like that, it's really cool.”
The Chiefs gained 20 yards on the play, and Reed kept the offense on the field, taking a fourth-and-one snap to continue the drive.
“It wasn't in the script, I'll tell you that,” Perine said with a laugh. “I saw him do it a few times in practice, just staying (ready) just in case. Sure enough, I saw him switch the ball (to his right hand) and put his arm behind his back. I watched it rewind. I was ready.”
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Kelce first attempted a lateral shot during the Chiefs' come-from-behind victory over the Detroit Lions during the 2019 championship season. The Chiefs were near midfield when Mahomes started the fourth quarter, rolling to his right and connecting with Kelce, who caught the ball in the midfield area. After the reception, Kelce, realizing he was about to be tackled before gaining any yards, passed the ball back to running back LeSean McCoy, who gained another 23 yards with a 33-yard highlight. did. The Chiefs finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
According to True Media, aside from the desperation at the end of the game, Kelce has sent the ball lateral to a teammate five times since the start of the 2019 season. Only six teams other than the Chiefs have posted more offensive lateral play than Kelce himself during this period. And only four teams have done more in the first half than Kelce's four teams.
“This is the most underused rule in the game,” Kelce said about laterals on his podcast. “I think I heard (NFL Network broadcaster) Rich Eisen mention it early on in my career. I thought, “Damn, he's not lying, dude, it's — it would be great if we just went out here and turned it over every single play.” That's what football used to be. ”
Travis Kelce is dangerous in the middle of the field because he can predict where defenders should be and gauge the spacing between defenders and teammates. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Kelce knows the best-case scenario to unleash his tricks. He has enough experience to predict when opposing defenses will play soft zone coverage. He also caught enough passes in the middle of the field during his career that he was able to predict where a particular defender should be and the spacing between the defender and his teammates.
“Or you get a guy in man-to-man (coverage) and you beat the defender and all of a sudden you see there's only one guy on all the routes around you,” Kelce said on the podcast. “Ironically, that's what happened last year against Buffalo.”
Although it didn't count, Kelce's lateral shot late in the fourth quarter in a loss to the Bills last season was probably his biggest assist of the game.
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Kelce surprised everyone at Arrowhead when he threw a horizontal pass across the field to receiver Kadarius Toney as the fans roared and it looked like Toney had scored the winning touchdown. However, this much-talked-about highlight was marred by a penalty. Toney started the play offside when lined up in the neutral zone.
“Honestly, it was a really great decision,” Kelce said on his podcast a few days after the game. “I caught (the ball), turned upfield, saw the single-high safety and knew it was man coverage, and I knew I beat the contain angle of the guy chasing me.
“When I broke the safety angle, I knew there was only one (defender) left on that side of the field. I knew (Tony) was over there from the route he ran, and I knew that (Tony) was going to be over there, and I was going to get sideways. I could see him out of the corner of my eye with his attitude, and I knew if I could get him the ball, I would have space to score a touchdown.”
Travis Kelce gets called back from Lateral to Tony 😭
(via @NFL)
https://t.co/KIYYNAopAy— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 11, 2023
Kelce's next attempt at a lateral was in late July during training camp. During his time with the team, Kelce experimented with arm angles, including underhand, end-over-end throws and two-handed chest passes to running back Isaiah Pacheco from the side.
Perine, a seven-year veteran, joined the Chiefs on August 30, less than a week before the team's season opener against the Baltimore Ravens. In his first practice with the Chiefs, Perine was stunned when Kelce sent him a ball laterally.
“He's playing soccer in the backyard,” Perine said with a smile. “It's been crazy just to actually experience it. But it's fun.”
(Photo: Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)
