Eight seconds remained. The Chiefs were trailing by three points to the Bills in last year's playoffs, two teams with top-three NFL odds to win the Super Bowl this year.'
Throwing downfield, gaining enough yards to get within field goal range and force overtime, was the only option.
The Chiefs knew it. The Bills knew it and who quarterback Patrick Mahomes would target for that matter. And yet, that didn't matter because Travis Kelce hauled in the clutch pass down the middle anyway. No one could stop it.
That play set up Harrison Butker's game-tying field goal at the end of regulation. And that led to another inevitability: Kelce, a perennial Pro Bowl tight end, catching a touchdown pass from Mahomes to win in overtime and advance to the AFC Championship.
Kelce has been an integral part of Kansas City's offense for years. That much won't change. But what will be different with the Chiefs' other star pass catcher, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, now gone?
Travis Kelce… the true mastermind behind the 13-second drive?
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— NFL on CBS ?? (@NFLonCBS) May 12, 2022
Travis Kelce Stats
Kelce has been a Pro Bowler since 2015, even before Mahomes was on the team and Alex Smith was behind center for the Chiefs. Since Kelce became an All-Pro in 2016, he's tallied at least 1,000 yards and 80 catches every season.'
In the last four years, with Mahomes at quarterback, Kelce has averaged 1,277 yards and 99 receptions.
But this was also with Hill, one of the fastest players in the league who could stretch the field in the Chiefs' dynamic offense. While people may remember Kelce in that Bills playoff game for his late heroics, Hill's 19-yard catch and run set the Chiefs up to even have a shot at tying it.
TRAVIS KELCE WOULD NOT GO DOWN ??
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— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 20, 2021