On his return trip to Tampa Bay, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce wanted some payback.
If memories of his team losing Super Bowl LV to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers weren’t motivational enough, the added disappointment of losing last week to the Colts only added fuel to Kelce’s fire, and it showed as he helped power the Chiefs to a 41-31 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium.
“You could throw it all together,” Kelce said. “There was a sour taste in our mouth from last week and from the last time we were down here in Tampa. And I’m going to put both of those behind me at this point. We’re here now, we’re going to roll with this momentum and how well we played today.”
Kelce caught nine passes for 92 yards and a touchdown — a 16-yard strike from Patrick Mahomes after Tampa fumbled away the opening kick and the Chiefs recovered at the 21. Two plays later, Kelce was in the end zone, and the Chiefs (3-1) never looked back.
Kelce, who caught five passes in the first quarter alone, said the team took to heart a challenge that was presented by coach Andy Reid.
“It was a lot of attention to detail,” Kelce said. “And I feel like when coaches challenge us at the beginning of the week — and from what you guys saw last week — there was an attention to detail throughout practice that we got to maintain throughout the entire season because that was just showing exactly how much we were focused throughout the week.
“Pat knew exactly where to go with the ball. Guys that were running routes knew exactly when the ball was coming to them, and on top of that the O-line played their tail off. And sure enough, we got the guys to be able to make any play out there on the field. And when you see us fly around and play for each other like that, we know we’re a hard team to beat.”
Kelce also added a nifty back-shoulder catch down the middle of the field early in the fourth quarter on a third down. The Chiefs utilized several two-and three-tight end sets, and all three tight ends scored a touchdown as Noah Gray scored on a QB/tight end sneak and Jody Fortson scored on a 10-yard slant from Mahomes.
Kelce is hoping that trend continues.
“Keep it coming,” Kelce said. “We’ve got a great room, I’ve been saying it all year. And I’m just happy for those guys. Finally feeling the juice of a Sunday night touchdown. There’s nothing like it, and on top of that at big-time moments in the game where we needed to find a way in there.”
Kelce also passed Rob Gronkowski for fifth all-time in receiving yards by a tight end. For his career, Kelce now has 9,328 yards receiving. Former Chief Tony Gonzalez is first with 15,127 yards receiving, but Kelce is proud to be among the greatest of all time.
“What an honor,” Kelce said. “I remember nobody knowing who the guy in sixth place was and feeling that, and turning that into fuel, turning that into something that you can live out your dreams. To be on a list like that with those guys, it’s such an honor and I’m just blessed.”
