KANSAS CITY, Mo. – One element of the Chiefs’ offense this season has coach Andy Reid laughing and chuckling several times.
“He’s been doing it for a few years,” Reid said of Travis Kelce on Monday. “We do it every day in practice. This isn’t just something we throw out on game day. It’s something we do. All is well with that, as long as you complete them.”
Kelce, a 12th-year veteran, has a pretty untouchable resume. He is a future Hall of Famer, three-time Super Bowl champion and a tight end who holds the record for most touchdown receptions in Chiefs history (76, tied with Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez).
This season, however, 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 throwing the ball backwards 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 co-hosts with his brother Jason. “I’m glad it worked. … This is just an instinct I had and I’m lucky we were able to get another set of downs.
GO DEEPER
‘He influences every player around him’: How the Chiefs defense revolves around Chris Jones
Kelce hasn’t had any problems with Reid this season as he has successfully executed his two lateral attempts, each time throwing the ball to Perine to help the Chiefs reach the red zone.
“It started out as kind of a joke,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said of Kelce’s combination of skill and grit. ‘Now it has happened one thing. As long as he completes it, Coach will continue to let him do it.”
THE RETURN OF THE SIDE‼️ pic.twitter.com/tdHOScHOLH
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 29, 2024
That thing helped the Chiefs score their only 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 headed into the flat from the backfield. In an unusual move, Kelce lunged forward and threw a pass as if he were Mahomes, a perfect spiral to Perine.
The Arrowhead Stadium crowd roared as Perine closed the play with a 15-yard gain. Perine acknowledged Kelce by pointing back to him like an NBA player recognizing his point guard after an assist on a fast break.
“Remember, 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 feeling. That’s something you mess around with in training, and it becomes so comfortable that all of a sudden you can reveal that and do that in a game. That ball was thrown perfectly.”
Three plays later, Mahomes threw a perfect lob pass to receiver Justin Watson for a six-yard touchdown.
GO DEEPER
NFL Power Rankings Week 14: Bills, Eagles peak, plus worst-case scenarios
After the game, some analysts and fans wondered if Kelce’s lateral was a designed part of the Chiefs’ play-calling.
“It’s not by design at all,” Mahomes said. “(Kelce’s) the only person who would do it. I know it looks (designed) at times, but it’s more that he’s been in this offense so long that he knows where guys are that run different routes.
Mahomes said he hoped Kelce gained at least eight yards on the play so he could convince Reid to leave the offense on the field for fourth down.
A similar scenario occurred in early October during 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 throw to Perine.
Kelce with the pitch on 3 & 22 😂
📺: #NOvsKC on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/PW8dXNhIrx—NFL (@NFL) October 8, 2024
“I saw it and thought: ‘Damn!’right guard Trey Smith said after that game. “That’s classic Kelce, just making plays 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, allowing Reid to keep the offense on the field and convert a fourth-and-1 snap to continue the drive.
“It wasn’t written, I’ll tell you that,” Perine said, smiling. “I’ve seen him do it a few times in training. I just stayed (ready) just in case. Sure enough, I saw him switch the ball (to his right hand) and wind his arm back. I was ready.”
GO DEEPER
Solving the left tackle problem for Patrick Mahomes is a must after Chiefs escape from Raiders
The first time Kelce attempted a lateral was in the Chiefs’ 2019 championship season in a comeback win over the Detroit Lions. With the Chiefs near midfield, Mahomes began the fourth quarter rolling to his right before connecting with Kelce, who caught the ball in the middle part of the field. Realizing he was about to be tackled before he could gain yards after his reception, Kelce turned the ball back to running back LeSean McCoy, who gained another 23 yards for a high of 33 yards. The Chiefs capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Not counting the desperation at the end of the game, Kelce has sent the ball to a teammate five times since the start of the 2019 season, according to TruMedia. Aside from the Chiefs, only six teams have played more offensive laterals in that span than Kelce himself. And only 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 rule on his podcast. “I think I heard (NFL Network broadcaster) Rich Eisen mention that early in my career. I was like, “Damn, he ain’t lying, man, that would be sweet if we were here, turning it around every play.” That used to be football.”
Travis Kelce is dangerous in the middle of the field because he can predict where defenders should stand and estimate the distance between them and his teammates. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Kelce knows the best scenarios to perform his trick. He has enough experience to anticipate when the opposing defense will play soft zone coverage. He has also received enough passes in the center of the field during his career to predict where certain defenders should be standing and the distance between them and his teammates.
“Or you catch them man-to-man (coverage) and you beat your defender and now all of a sudden you know there’s only one man for every other route around you,” Kelce said on the podcast. “That’s ironically what happened (against) Buffalo last year.”
It didn’t count, but Kelce’s side ball late in the fourth quarter in the loss to the Bills last season was probably his biggest assist of the game.
Free, daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.
Free, daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.
To register
Kelce surprised everyone at Arrowhead when he threw a side ball down the field to receiver Kadarius Toney, who appeared to score the go-ahead goal as the fans let out unbridled cheers. However, the viral highlight was marred by a penalty: Toney started the offside when he lined up in the neutral zone.
“Honestly, man, it was such a blowout (decision),” Kelce said on the podcast a few days after the game. “I caught (the ball), turned onto the field, saw the single-high safety and knew it was man coverage and knew I broke the containment angle of the man chasing me.
“When I broke the safety corner, I knew there was only one (defender) left on that side of the field. I knew (Toney) was there from the route he was running and I saw him out of the corner of my eye in a side position. I knew if I could get him the ball, I knew he had room to score a touchdown.”
TRAVIS KELCE LATERAL TO TONEY IS RETURNED 😭
(via @NFL)
https://t.co/KIYYNAopAy— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 11, 2023
The next time Kelce tried a lateral was during training camp in late July. During team periods, Kelce experimented with arm angles — underhanded, an end-over-end pitch and a two-handed chest pass — for his laterals to running back Isiah Pacheco.
Perine, a seventh-year veteran, joined the Chiefs on August 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 plays football in the backyard,” Perine said, smiling. “Just to experience it firsthand, it was crazy. But it’s fun.”
(Photo: Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)