Indianapolis Colts vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Studs and duds from Week 5
Dud: Travis Kelce
The Colts had no Darius Leonard and no Malik Hooker in the lineup on Sunday night. Given the roles that those two play on Indianapolis’ defense, the assumption entering the contest was that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the team’s leading receiver on the year, was due for a big night.
Instead, Kelce disappeared for a huge portion of the game at Arrowhead. After a handful of first-quarter grabs, he wasn’t heard from again until the fourth quarter and, even then, he wasn’t a vacuum hauling anything thrown his way into his arms.
Kelce finished the loss with only four catches on 10 targets, even if he did end up with 70 yards. No one is questioning Kelce’s ability or talent moving forward. Having said that, it’s fair to question the performance that he put forth against the Colts, especially as Kansas City lost their first game of the season.
Stud: Patrick Mahomes
Many people are likely to criticize Patrick Mahomes for his outing on Sunday night. While he did finish the game with 321 yards passing, a good chunk of that came late. Furthermore, he completed just 22 of his 39 passes and had just one touchdown on the night. Anyone who was watching the game, though, saw that there was much more to Mahomes’ performance in Week 5.
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With the Chiefs offensive line playing downright horribly, Mahomes was under constant duress on Sunday night. To worsen the matter, he was also seen limping after a couple of plays in which his ankle got stepped on or tweaked. All the while, the third-year quarterback hung tough in the pocket, tried to make plays and looked the part of a leader. It may have been in vain but it was a tremendous effort from the reigning MVP given the circumstances.