Sometimes, a third-and-22 play can tell you everything you need to know about a football team. For the Kansas City Chiefs, it wasn’t just about converting an impossible down—it was about watching their star tight end turn a five-yard catch into football poetry, much to their quarterback’s amused dismay.
Patrick Mahomes stood at the postgame podium shaking his head, not because his Chiefs had just improved to 5-0, but because of a play that started with a simple instruction to Travis Kelce: catch the ball and get into field goal range. Instead, the tight end, who had already snagged eight first-half catches—more than half of his entire reception total (15) through the first four games—decided to get fancy.
The stage was set at the Saints’ 44-yard line, with Kansas City nursing a slim 10-7 lead. What unfolded next looked more like schoolyard football than an NFL playbook. Mahomes hit Kelce with a quick strike, but rather than securing field goal position, Kelce veered left and unleashed an underhand shovel pass across the field to Samaje Perine, who sprinted for an additional 15 yards.
“I’m shaking my head because I told it to him before the play that I’ll throw it to you so we can get in field goal range,” Mahomes revealed post-game, comparing the experience to talking with his daughter Sterling. “And he underhand shovelled it across the entire field.” The play worked brilliantly—leading to a fourth-down conversion and a Harrison Butker field goal that pushed the lead to 13-7.
While ESPN’s Troy Aikman pondered if this was improvised brilliance, Andy Reid had a surprise for everyone. “We do it every day in practice,” the Chiefs‘ head coach told ESPN’s Lisa Salters at halftime, pulling back the curtain on what appeared to be spontaneous magic.
How Travis Kelce’s circus act sparked Chiefs’ offensive revival
With their offensive arsenal depleted—missing Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice, and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown—the Chiefs needed their veterans to shoulder the load. Kelce answered the call with a first-half performance that reminded everyone why he was ticketed for Canton.
The lateral wasn’t just showmanship—it was a lifeline for a team facing adversity. Missing their leading receiver, Rice, and dealing with a makeshift offensive lineup, Kansas City turned to their trusted playmakers. “That’s just Travis man, he’s a special player,” Mahomes reflected. “As long as he does his work, no one’s gonna say anything.”
The gutsy move transformed what could have been a momentum-killing third-down stop into the spark that helped push Kansas City toward their eventual 26-13 victory. Alongside JuJu Smith-Schuster’s heroic 130-yard receiving performance, Kelce’s wizardry showed why the Chiefs remain undefeated despite their offensive challenges.
This wasn’t just another win that kept Kansas City perfect at 5-0, joining only Minnesota in the unbeaten ranks. It was a masterclass in how championship teams adapt when the conventional playbook gets thin. Sometimes, that means watching your tight end turn a simple catch into a circus act—even if it makes your quarterback shake his head in disbelief.