How Chiefs newcomer DeAndre Hopkins helped Travis Kelce have his best game of the season

LAS VEGAS — Travis Kelce had his best day of the season Sunday, and everyone wanted to let him know afterward.

Kelce, the Chiefs tight end and future Hall of Famer, received congratulatory dap after congratulatory dap from members of the rival Las Vegas Raiders after Kansas City’s 27-20 victory.

When the Raiders stopped acknowledging him, Kelce walked off the field and noticed a large number of Chiefs fans, all of them dressed in red, who had moved to the front row of seats at Allegiant Stadium. Kelce handed his yellow gloves to two children in the front row and high-fived as many people as he could as he walked to the tunnel and the Chiefs’ locker room.

Kelce led the Chiefs with a vintage performance — a game-high 10 catches on 12 targets for 90 yards and a touchdown to help the Chiefs stay undefeated.

Inside the visitors locker room, Kelce enjoyed the few minutes he had chatting with his newest teammate, receiver DeAndre Hopkins. After the Chiefs’ trade Wednesday with the Tennessee Titans, Hopkins’ debut was about as good as he, Kelce and the rest of the team could’ve hoped for against the Raiders. Kelce, in a short chat with The Athletic, shared that Hopkins’ arrival in Kansas City played a major role in his strong performance.

“Honestly, his knowledge, mentality and aura in the building definitely juiced us up,” Kelce said of Hopkins. “He gave us a lot of confidence. You know you’ve got an absolute dawg and proven guy. When you get a swag champ in the building, all of a sudden everybody’s aura goes up and it’s a whole lot more fun. I think he’s going to absolutely help us out even more.”

The Chiefs (7-0) needed Hopkins against the Raiders (2-6) — and for the remainder of the season — because quarterback Patrick Mahomes was, for the first time this year, without three key wide receivers: newcomer Marquise Brown (left shoulder), rising star Rashee Rice (right knee) and veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster (right hamstring).

Without Hopkins, the Raiders’ defensive strategy would’ve been pretty simple and perhaps easy to execute: just double-team Kelce and force Mahomes to scramble in desperate attempts to make the necessary highlights.

But with Hopkins and Kelce on the field together, Mahomes noticed something that proved beneficial for the Chiefs offense.

“As I looked back at the tablet, there’s a couple of times where, in man coverage, he was just really working and winning,” Mahomes said of Hopkins’ route running. “Even the touchdown to Travis, if you look back on his side, he’s open, too, for a touchdown. I know the type of player he is.

“It shows that if they’re going to play man coverage against him, he’s going to get open and I have to give him the chances to go out there and make plays.”

Mahomes to Hopkins! Their first @Chiefs connection.

📺: #KCvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/gh98YNIGxd

— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024

The first third down of the game proved that Kelce and Hopkins can both be open at the same time against zone coverage. Hopkins made an impressive leaping catch against the Raiders’ zone coverage for a 13-yard gain. The drive culminated in a touchdown. Mahomes explained that the Chiefs practiced the play just twice in the two days Hopkins had to learn the basics of the playbook and the game plan. The first completion, Mahomes said, showed that Hopkins, with more practice and snaps, can be a perfect addition.

“He wanted to be in there (more), which is a positive,” coach Andy Reid said of Hopkins, who finished with two receptions for 29 yards on three targets. “I understand. He’ll get more chances in the next game.”

A five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, Hopkins knew his presence helped Kelce.

“That’s for defensive coaches to scheme up,” Hopkins said of him and Kelce being open on numerous snaps. “Obviously, (he) and I are one and two, since we’ve been in the league, as far as consecutive catches.”

Hopkins is correct. He leads the NFL with the longest active streak of games with at least one reception at 169. Kelce is next with 165 games.

Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy used several plays to get Kelce the ball, whether behind the line of scrimmage, on the perimeter or through his usual routes into the intermediate area of the field.

Six of Kelce’s receptions against the Raiders came after he lined up in a wide alignment (often opposite Hopkins’ wide alignment), according to Next Gen Stats. Most of Kelce’s receiving yards (79 of 90) were produced against zone coverage.

TOUCHDOWN TRAVIS HAS ARRIVED 🏹 pic.twitter.com/MiiuJPHeJD

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 27, 2024

“The coaches did a great job of moving me around and giving the defense a hard time to put two guys on me,” Kelce told The Athletic. “From there, me and Pat just had timing. When the play breaks down, you find a way to make it work.”

It took seven games, but Kelce scored his first touchdown of the season. Late in the second quarter, Mahomes hit a wide-open Kelce with a 5-yard pass in the middle of the end zone against the Raiders’ zone coverage.

“He made a big-time catch, but he didn’t mention (scoring a touchdown) on National Tight Ends Day one time,” Mahomes said, laughing. “He’s all about winning and that’s what makes him such a special player.”

Kelce is one touchdown reception shy of tying Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez (76) for the most in franchise history. The first player to celebrate with Kelce in the end zone was Hopkins, who hugged his new teammate from behind while shouting and pounding his chest.

“He’s been my boy before I got here,” Hopkins said of Kelce. “Of course, it’s (exciting) going out and just playing ball and having fun.”

The Chiefs’ one-minute drive before halftime was successful because Mahomes targeted Kelce and Hopkins to get the ball in range for kicker Harrison Butker.

Kelce caught Mahomes’ intermediate pass for what appeared to be a 12-yard reception. But with the Chiefs out of timeouts, Kelce knew getting out of bounds was just as important as the yards gained, so he pulled one of his favorite moves, lateraling the ball to the running back. Samaje Perine failed to catch Kelce’s pitch but picked up the ball, gained 12 yards and went out of bounds.

Kelce lateral alert! 🚨

📺: #KCvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/EOzunZvZpe

— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024

Two plays later, Mahomes completed an intermediate strike to Hopkins, who ran a crisp corner route against man coverage for a 16-yard gain and got out of bounds. Butker made a 42-yard field goal to give the Chiefs a seven-point lead at halftime.

“We didn’t get the (coverage) look that we wanted,” Hopkins said, “but Pat put the ball on the money and I was where I needed to be.”

When Hopkins left the field after the game and entered the tunnel toward the locker room, he was greeted by Tammy, Reid’s wife, who raised her arms in the air. Hopkins responded by smiling and hugging Tammy, who congratulated him on his first victory with the Chiefs.

A few minutes later, Hopkins was surprised to learn that his reception just before halftime helped Mahomes become the fastest quarterback in NFL history to post 30,000 career passing yards, doing so in just 103 games.

“Oh, man,” Hopkins said. “Hopefully, I can catch some more (passes) and keep his legacy going.”

1st Chiefs game, 1st win for DeAndre Hopkins. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/yQ5KKBH9Ud

— Rob Collins (@RobCollinsTV) October 27, 2024

Injury update

Third-year cornerback Nazeeh Johnson made his first career start Sunday in place of cornerback Jaylen Watson, who sustained a significant ankle injury in last week’s win over the 49ers.

Johnson was active in the first quarter, recording five tackles. But Johnson left the game early in the second quarter with a concussion. The two players who split snaps in Johnson’s absence were third-year player Joshua Williams and undrafted rookie Christian Roland-Wallace.

Johnson missed all of last season when he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee early in training camp.

Tight end Jody Fortson was carted to the Chiefs’ locker room after he sustained a right knee injury on the Raiders’ onside kick. Fortson, who was emotional and in tears, needed crutches to exit the locker room. Reid said Fortson will undergo tests to determine the severity of the injury.