The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers challenged each other in the opening half of Sunday's AFC West tilt. The Chiefs put themselves ahead seconds before the half, thanks to yet another Travis Kelce touchdown catch from Patrick Mahomes. The touchdown was plenty special as the co-founder of Tight End University notched a touchdown on National Tight Ends Day.
The 50th career TD connection for @tkelce and @PatrickMahomes, on #NationalTightEndsDay 🤩
— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2023
📺: #LACvsKC on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/iTs8HMaXlh pic.twitter.com/1ORjTB8RKy
But the connection was a pivotal one in Chiefs history as well, according to the Chiefs.
That TD marked the 50th TD connection between QB Patrick Mahomes and TE Travis Kelce, the most by any QB-pass catcher in franchise history and the 4th most by a QB-TE in NFL history. They need 1 more TD to tie Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham (51) for 4th.
— Chiefs Communications (@ChiefsPR) October 22, 2023
There is even further history behind that touchdown grab for Kelce. That increased Kelce's total touchdowns to 76, which tied him with Tony Gonzalez for the second-most in Kansas City franchise history.
The duo has been hooking up for highlight plays since Week 2 of the 2018 NFL season. Mahomes has tossed Kelce 14 of his 16 postseason touchdowns as well, including three multi-touchdown games across five postseason appearances.
The duo's connection is a unique one, providing Kansas City fans with some of the franchise's most memorable moments.
"His understanding of coverages and how he runs routes is special," Mahomes said about Kelce in 2021. "I think that's the best thing about his game. Obviously, he's physically gifted and he's a mismatch for guys on the field -- linebackers, corners, whoever it is. It's something that helps me out a ton. ... It's stuff that not everybody understands. I think it's just him thinking like a quarterback and understanding the whole concept of the play by getting other people open and getting himself open when he needs to get open."
The veteran Kelce served as Mahomes' security blanket in his early career, but now the two play off each other and only elevate the offense.
"When Pat got into the huddle, it was just a little bit different," Kelce said. "I think he brought a different energy, different style to the game that even I was a little more accustomed to, just going out and playing ball in the backyard type of football. As he progresses, as he starts to learn more about defenses and gets into the defensive coordinators' minds, his game is just going to keep going up and up until probably something that we've never seen before -- if what he's doing already isn't something that we've never seen before. It's a fun time to be a Kansas City Chief, and it's because 15 is in the building, for sure."