The Kansas City Chiefs have found multiple ways to win this season, oftentimes leaning on their defense and stepping up in critical situations on offense en route to victories. With six consecutive wins in the books, things are going mostly well for Andy Reid’s team.
In Week 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers, it was about as full-team of a win as Kansas City has had all season long.
Amassing a staggering 333 yards of offense in the first half alone, the Chiefs hung 24 points on their AFC West rivals before the halftime break. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce were completely locked in, playing some of their best football of 2023. In the second half, Steve Spagnuolo’s defense slammed the door shut on Los Angeles while Kansas City’s offense slowed down but put the game away with a late touchdown. On a new episode of the New Heights podcast with his brother Jason, Kelce described Sunday’s game as a fun afternoon.
“Man, that was a fun one,” Kelce said. “We put it together as an offense and as just a collective team. It’s fun, man, seeing everybody kind of still rise up into their role in the offense and then just going out there and balling with old Patty Mahomes. He’s an electric play waiting to happen every snap and it’s just fun as hell playing with that guy, man. He was firing on all cylinders, both [in] the pass game and getting it done with his legs against a really good pass rush and a really good defense altogether.”
Kelce led the way for Kansas City in Week 7, just like he did in Week 6 against the Denver Broncos. On Sunday, the future Hall of Fame pass catcher recorded 12 receptions in front of the home crowd, amassing 179 yards and a score in the red zone. It was one of the best games of Kelce’s entire career, with possibly the top one having already come versus the Chargers. Afterward, Reid said his star tight end simply gets better with time.
Kelce wasn’t the only player chipping in on offense, however. Rookie wideout Rashee Rice had five receptions and 60 yards of his own, Marquez Valdes-Scantling had 84 yards and a score and running back Isiah Pacheco capped off the scoring with his touchdown grab in the fourth quarter. Even with Kelce’s statistical dominance, others found a way to make an impact. He noted that games are better when that’s the case.
“I don’t think you’re a good offense if you’re one-dimensional or two-dimensional,” Kelce said. “You’ve got to spread that thing around and you’ve got to get everybody involved. I think that’s every offense, you know? Obviously, there’s going to be games where it doesn’t always work like that [and] you’ve just got to find a way to put up points and get downfield. But it’s just that much more fun, man. You get everybody involved, everybody gets a piece of the pie, everybody’s in the zone. It’s just that much more fun of a game. Certainly Sunday in Kansas City, that was a blast seeing everybody get a piece of it.”
In last week’s podcast episode, Kelce said that offensive coordinator Matt Nagy challenged the offense to pick things up and have some fun while doing it. That was certainly the case on Sunday, with Kansas City having one of its best outputs of the seven-week season thus far. As the Chiefs continue to find their identity as a team, the schedule isn’t getting a whole lot easier. Following a Sunday matchup with the Broncos, it’s a Germany game versus the Miami Dolphins and then a Philadelphia Eagles contest after the bye week. According to Kelce, what the Chiefs learn in the mid-season outings now will come in handy down the stretch as everyone works together to improve.
“Just answering the bell and keep getting better,” Kelce said. “I feel that the games in October and November, obviously going into December if you have a chance to make the playoffs, those games are so crucial in learning more about this football team. Just keep finding ways to get better every single week. And you’ve got to go out there and just play your tail off. That’s the only way to get better, man. You can’t be hesitant, you can’t be thinking about it. When that ball’s snapped, you’ve got to go and we’ll fix this after the game. I think we just put a full game together, and it was fun to find a way to grind it out at the end.”
