Carolina Panthers hold Travis Kelce to under 50 receiving yards
One peculiar aspect of the Kansas City Chiefs season has been the regression from typically prolific tight end Travis Kelce.
Through 10 games, Kelce is on pace for just 862 receiving yards. This would be the joint career low for the future Pro Football Hall of Famer and the first time he’d fail to eclipse 900 yards since 2015.
Similar to Patrick Mahomes, his production is not bad by any means. The Carolina Panthers would kill for a tight end to have 502 receiving yards in a season, let alone through 10 games. But again as with his quarterback, the former Cincinnati Bearcat is held to a different standard than his peers and he has failed to reach the heights of previous seasons.
After stringing together his best stretch of the season in the three contests before the clash with the Buffalo Bills, Kelce was a complete non-factor at Highmark Stadium with just two receptions for eight receiving yards. With the lack of talent in the Chiefs wide receiver room outside DeAndre Hopkins, not having his most dependable pass-catcher performing as expected can only be a detriment to Mahomes.
The Panthers will be hoping to hold Kelce in check similar to Buffalo. Expect Andy Reid to move him across the field, lining him up in a variety of matchups. This could mean multiple Carolina defenders will need to cover the four-time All-Pro.
The prospect of Kelce matching up with Jaycee Horn is a tantalizing one. That could leave Ejiro Evero's secondary exposed to the blazing speed of Xavier Worthy or the savvy separation skills of Hopkins. It's a tricky conundrum the defensive coordinator must solve effectively.
For the Panthers to have any chance of success in Week 12 at Bank of America Stadium, keeping Kelce locked up is vital. This would force Mahomes to throw to other receivers who are less talented.