It’s the NFL playoffs, so you know what that means: Travis Kelce is about to once again dominate, just like he always has. Just like he did last week when the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round, and like he most likely will against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship.
In the Chiefs’ 23-14 win over the Texans, Kelce came alive after being all but dormant during the regular season. He led the team in receiving with seven catches for 117 yards and one touchdown. The outing set another playoff record for the tight end, giving him his ninth career postseason 100-yard receiving game, surpassing Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.
“Yeah, he can still play,” head coach Andy Reid said of Kelce after the game, per NFL.com. “He’s alright.”
The 12-year veteran last season surpassed another of Rice’s records for postseason career receptions in the AFC title game. So, what will he do in this year’s conference game? Let’s make our bold predictions for Travis Kelce against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship.
Travis Kelce scores at least one touchdown against the Bills
When it comes to Chiefs versus Bills, throw all the prior stats out the window—especially if it’s against the Chiefs. The Chiefs have owned the Bills when it comes to playoff time.
When the Chiefs and Bills faced off during the regular season, which resulted in Kansas City’s first regular-season loss, Kelce wasn’t too impressive. He had just two catches on four targets for eight yards. But again, that was regular-season Kelce. He transforms in the playoffs.
Kelce has not scored in just eight of his 23 career playoff games, per StatMuse. However, in his eight matchups against the Bills, he’s totaled just four touchdowns and has not scored in the last three games. The prediction here is that streak will end in the AFC title game.
Travis Kelce has at least 60 yards receiving, with one reception of at least 30 yards
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The Bills have had their struggles with tight ends at times this season, but those issues have been scattered. In three games this season, they’ve allowed tight ends to rack up 90 yards or more. However, in only one of those games did a tight end score.
Although Kelce hasn’t scored in his last three games against Buffalo (minus this year’s regular-season game), he’s still put up solid yardage. In the last three games, he’s tallied 191 yards, averaging 10.4 yards per catch. Expect Kelce to finish with at least 60 yards in this game, including one big play that racks up a chunk of those yards.
Travis Kelce and the Chiefs fail to make a late game rally to beat Bills
The last two times these teams have faced off in the playoffs, it was a one-score game. Both times, a late fourth-quarter drive either won the game for the Chiefs or sent it to overtime, where they eventually triumphed.
In the 2022 AFC Divisional game, it was Kelce who scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime, sending the Chiefs to the AFC Championship. But this time, Kelce and the Chiefs won’t be so lucky.
It feels almost sacrilegious to pick against the Chiefs and Kelce in the playoffs, especially against the Bills, but their luck has to run out sometime. While Kansas City has done what the best teams in NFL history have done—find ways to win—this Bills team, led by Josh Allen, feels like it’s on a streak to finally make it to the Super Bowl.
It’s easy to see this game being close all the way to the end, with the Bills taking a late lead. However, despite their efforts, the Chiefs will fall just short and miss the Super Bowl for the first time in two years.
