Travis Kelce gets the party going for Chiefs with a game for the ages

BALTIMORE — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has garnered a lot of attention over the past year − as a familiar face in TV commercials, the broey co-host of America's most popular podcast and, oh yeah, the boyfriend of one of the most famous people on Earth.

Sunday afternoon, however, was about Kelce the football player. It was a reminder that behind the celebrity headlines and podcast quips, he remains one of the most dominant tight ends of his era.

After a lackluster regular season by his lofty standards, Kelce went off in the Chiefs' 17-10 win over Baltimore on Sunday, finishing with 11 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Yes, his postgame kiss on the field with girlfriend Taylor Swift might have generated buzz on social media. But before that, it was all about the catches he made in clutch situations, including a twisting touchdown grab that put the Chiefs on the board − and the fact that he also broke one of Jerry Rice's postseason records along the way.

Rice, who is widely considered to be the greatest wide receiver of all-time, caught 151 passes in 29 playoff games over the course of his career. Kelce passed that mark in the first half of what was just his 21st postseason appearance.

"Shoutout to Jerry Rice, baby," Kelce said in a brief interview on CBS after the game. "The Chiefs are still the Chiefs."

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He followed it up by quoting the Beastie Boys: "You've got to fight... for your right... to party!"

Kelce was not otherwise made available to speak with reporters after the game.

It feels weird, and maybe even a little unfair, to call Sunday a vintage performance for the four-time all-Pro tight end, who has now helped fuel the Chiefs to their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years. But in many ways, that's what it was − from the sprawling fourth-down catch to prolong a drive, to the relentless jawing at Ravens defenders, to the touchdown catch in which he contorted his body to nab a pass that was thrown low and away from him to keep the defender out of the play.

In a game where early momentum proved critical, Kelce led all receivers with nine catches in the first half, including that 19-yarder for the score. He receded into the background in the second half, as the Chiefs' defense continued to flummox Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and ultimately put the game away.

"He's a special player, man," quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. "I always say it, but when the lights get brighter, he plays better. That's the true mark of a champion, and that's what he is."

Sunday's game wasn't quite Kelce's best of the season − that would be his 12-catch, 179-yard performance against the Los Angeles Chargers − but it was close. And it wasn't his most dominant playoff performance, but it was comparable. He already holds the postseason record for most catches by a tight end in a single game, with 14.

"(Kelce) a future Hall of Famer," Ravens nose tackle Michael Pierce said. "He knows where to be, and they were just on point."

For a Chiefs team that lost four of six games in one stretch during the regular season, and entered the playoffs as a No. 3 seed rather than its customary No. 1, Sunday's game marked a return to normalcy. The same could be said for Kelce.

Since the Chiefs won last year's Super Bowl, Kelce has gone from football famous to regular old famous. He hosted an episode of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in March and has seen the audience numbers for his podcast, "New Heights," skyrocket. Rumors of his relationship with Swift began to bubble up in the fall. And according to The Wall Street Journal, he's dominated television commercials during NFL games like no other player − appearing in 375 ads as of Dec. 11. That's 34 more than the Chiefs' other undisputed star, quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Yet as his profile began to rise, Kelce's performance on the field didn't follow. He finished the regular season with 93 catches for 984 yards, his fewest since 2015. And he caught just five touchdown passes − a great season by many tight ends' standards, but not his own.

Kelce, however, has always balked at the idea that his on-field performances have been affected by all the hype away from it.

"You hear the media throughout the year, if we're not having success, maybe throw it out there that I wasn't focused or the team isn't focused on certain things," Kelce told reporters this week. "If you're in this building, you know exactly what's going on."

It's no coincidence that the Chiefs' offensive resurgence in the playoffs has coincided with Kelce's. He finished with seven catches for 71 yards in a win over the Miami Dolphins in the wild card round, then accounted for two of the Chiefs' three touchdowns in a 27-24 win against the Buffalo Bills the following week.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said he's noticed a change in Kelce's demeanor during the postseason, and he believes Kelce benefitted from resting in the team's regular-season finale.

“Listen, Travis is always fired up. He's always fired up," Reid said. "But with the playoffs, he's even more so. I never worry about him being ready to go. He's always right there and just brings that emotion to the guys."

That emotion was evident on the field after the game, as a reporter captured video of him walking with his arm around Swift, soaking in the moment. He found his brother, Jason, the all-Pro Philadelphia Eagles center with whom Travis hosts the podcast.

"Finish this mother (expletive)," Jason Kelce told him.

"How about it," Travis Kelce replied. ".... I love this (expletive), man."

Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on social media @Tom_Schad.