According to a press release via the NFL, the league has announced its latest weekly award winners for each conference and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has earned the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the L.A. Chargers in Week 15.
The Chiefs faced the Chargers in an important AFC West match-up that pitted the first and second place contenders in the division against each other on short rest in a Thursday Night Football game. The primetime showdown was a tough win for the Chiefs who needed overtime to put away Justin Herbert and the Chargers by a final score of 34-28 on the road at SoFi Stadium.
Kelce was indeed a hero in the game by setting a career-high of 191 receiving yards in the game—his fourth 100+ yard performance of the 2021 season. He had 2 touchdowns among his 10 total catches as he and fellow offensive star Tyreek Hill carried the Chiefs across the finish line for the big win. Surprisingly, this is Kelce’s first ever weekly award win in his historic career.
Travis Kelce has been named the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week for Week 15.
The victory over the Chargers earned the Chiefs a two-game lead in the AFC West and sole possession of the top seed in the conference for now.
Unfortunately for Kelce, he landed on the COVID reserve list shortly just a few days later along with a current mark of 15 other Chiefs from the active roster or practice squad.
Other winners in the AFC include Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard (defense) and, interestingly enough, Houston Texans returner Tremon Smith (special teams). Smith was the Chiefs sixth-round draft pick back in the 2018 NFL Draft.