KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A particular element of the Chiefs offense this season has led coach Andy Reid to smile and chuckle multiple times.
“He’s been doing it for a few years,” Reid said Monday of tight end Travis Kelce. “We do it in practice every day. This isn’t just something that we throw out there on game day. It’s something we do. Everything is OK with that — just as long as you complete them.”
Kelce, a 12th-year veteran, has a pretty unassailable resume. He’s a future Hall of Famer, a three-time Super Bowl champion and a tight end who holds the record for the most touchdown receptions in Chiefs history (76, along with Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez).
This season, though, Kelce has added another wrinkle to his game: He has perfected the lateral pass.
In the Chiefs’ win Friday over the rival Las Vegas Raiders, Kelce’s most memorable highlight came when he avoided being tackled in the middle of the field by pitching the ball backward to running back Samaje Perine, who then gained a critical first down.
“Yeah, man, right place, right time,” Kelce said on Wednesday’s episode of “New Heights,” the podcast he hosts with his brother, Jason. “I’m happy it worked. … This is just an instinct that I had and I’m lucky we were able to get a fresh set of downs.”
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Kelce hasn’t gotten in trouble with Reid this season because he’s successfully executed his two lateral attempts, tossing the ball to Perine each time to help the Chiefs reach the red zone.
“It started off as kind of a joke,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said of Kelce’s combination of skill and boldness. “Now, it’s become a thing. As long as he completes it, Coach is going to keep letting him do it.”
THE RETURN OF THE LATERAL‼️ pic.twitter.com/tdHOScHOLH
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 29, 2024
That thing helped the Chiefs score their lone touchdown against the Raiders in the second quarter, just before the two-minute warning. On third-and-10 just outside the red zone, Mahomes completed a short pass to Kelce, who immediately made eye contact with Perine, who released from the backfield into the flat. With an unusual motion, Kelce jumped forward and threw a pass as if he were Mahomes, a perfect spiral to Perine.
The Arrowhead Stadium crowd roared as Perine finished the play with a 15-yard gain. Perine acknowledged Kelce by pointing back to him like an NBA player acknowledging his point guard after an assist on a fast break.
“Don’t forget, he was a (high school) quarterback,” Amazon Prime analyst Kirk Herbstreit said of Kelce after the highlight. “That’s a no-look (pass). That’s just a feel. That’s something you mess around with at a practice, and it gets so comfortable that all of a sudden you’re able to unveil that and do that in a game. That ball is pitched perfectly.”
Three plays later, Mahomes threw a perfect lob pass to receiver Justin Watson for a six-yard touchdown.
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After the game, some analysts and fans wondered if Kelce’s lateral was a designed part of the Chiefs’ play call.
“It’s not designed at all,” Mahomes said. “(Kelce’s) the only person who would do it. I know sometimes it looks (designed), but it’s more of him just being in this offense for so long that he knows where guys are that are running different routes.”
Mahomes said he hoped that Kelce gained at least eight yards on the play, so he could persuade Reid to let the offense stay on the field for fourth down.
A similar scenario occurred in early October in the Chiefs’ win over the New Orleans Saints. In the second quarter, the Chiefs faced a third-and-21 snap. Mahomes threw a short pass to Kelce, who attracted three defenders in the middle of the field before making an underhand pitch to Perine.
Kelce with the pitch on 3rd & 22 😂
📺: #NOvsKC on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/PW8dXNhIrx— NFL (@NFL) October 8, 2024
“I saw it and I was like, ‘Dang!’” right guard Trey Smith said after that game. “That’s classic Kelce, just to make a play when the team needs it. It was really dope, man. Every time you see something like that, it’s really cool.”
The Chiefs gained 20 yards on the play, leading Reid to keep the offense on the field to convert a fourth-and-1 snap to continue the drive.
“It was not scripted, I tell you that much,” Perine said smiling. “I saw him doing it a couple of times in practice. I was just staying (ready) just in case. Sure enough, I saw him switch the ball (to his right hand) and wind his arm back. I was ready for it.”
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The first time Kelce attempted a lateral was in the Chiefs’ 2019 championship season in a comeback victory over the Detroit Lions. With the Chiefs near midfield, Mahomes started the fourth quarter rolling to his right before connecting with Kelce, who caught the ball in the intermediate area of the field. Realizing he was about to get tackled before he could gain yards after his reception, Kelce flipped the ball back to running back LeSean McCoy, who gained an additional 23 yards for a 33-yard highlight. The Chiefs finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Not counting end-of-game desperation, Kelce has lateraled the ball to a teammate five times since the start of the 2019 season, according to TruMedia. Other than the Chiefs, only six teams have had more offensive lateral plays than Kelce himself in that span. And just four teams have more in the first half than Kelce’s four.
“It’s the most underused rule in the game,” Kelce said of the lateral on his podcast. “I think I heard (NFL Network broadcaster) Rich Eisen mention that early on in my career. I was like, ‘Damn, he ain’t lying, man, that s— would be sweet if we were out here just f—— flipping it around every single play.’ That’s what football used to be.”
Travis Kelce is dangerous in the middle of the field because he can predict where defenders should be and can gauge the spacing between them and his teammates. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
Kelce knows the best scenarios to unleash his trick. He has enough experience to anticipate when the opposing defense will play a soft zone coverage. He also has caught enough passes in the middle of the field during his career to predict where certain defenders should be and the spacing between them and his teammates.
“Or you catch them in man-to-man (coverage) and you beat your defender and now, all of a sudden, you know there’s only one guy for every other route around you,” Kelce said on the podcast. “That’s what happened (against) Buffalo, ironically, last year.”
It didn’t count, but Kelce’s lateral late in the fourth quarter in a loss to the Bills last season was probably his greatest mid-play assist.
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Kelce surprised everyone at Arrowhead when he threw an across-the-field lateral to receiver Kadarius Toney, who appeared to score the go-ahead touchdown while fans released unbridled cheers. The viral highlight, however, was marred by a penalty: Toney began the play offside as he lined up in the neutral zone.
“Honestly, man, it was such a bang-bang (decision),” Kelce said on the podcast a few days after the game. “I caught (the ball), turned upfield, saw the single-high safety and knew it was man coverage and knew I broke the contain angle of the guy chasing me.
“When I broke the safety’s angle, I knew there was only one (defender) left on that side of the field. I knew (Toney) was over there from the route he ran and I saw him out of the corner of my eye in a lateral position. I knew if I could get him the ball, I knew he had space to score a touchdown.”
TRAVIS KELCE LATERAL TO TONEY GETS CALLED BACK 😭
(via @NFL)
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 11, 2023
The next time Kelce tried a lateral was in late July during training camp. During team periods, Kelce experimented with arm angles — underhanded, an end-over-end pitch and a two-hand chest pass — for his laterals to running back Isiah Pacheco.
Perine, a seventh-year veteran, joined the Chiefs on Aug. 30, less than a week before the team played its season opener against the Baltimore Ravens. In his first practice with the Chiefs, Perine was stunned when Kelce lateraled the ball to him.
“He’s playing backyard football,” Perine said smiling. “Just to experience it firsthand, it was crazy. But it’s fun.”
(Photo: Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images)
