Coming off a bye, the Kansas City Chiefs had a chance to make a statement against the Los Angeles Chargers. As the AFC’s only undefeated team, they were looking to keep their perfect record intact and build on their strong start to the season.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though, as injuries began to pile up. That’s when Travis Kelce stepped up. After briefly leaving the game with an injury scare in the first quarter, the veteran tight end returned and showed he wasn’t going to let the injury keep him off the field.
Travis Kelce Earns Fans’ Respect for Playing Through Pain
Coming into the game, Kelce was already ranked No. 2 in the league with a PFN TE Impact Score of 86.6, recording 246 yards and two touchdowns in four games. He added to those totals with four catches for 53 yards on Sunday.
What made his performance even more impressive was the injury he played through. Early in the first quarter, his leg appeared to get trapped underneath a defender. He walked gingerly to the sideline, where the medical staff checked his ankle. After getting it taped up, he returned to the game.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid later confirmed that Kelce played through the injury for the rest of the afternoon. The tight end’s toughness naturally earned praise from fans and even drew compliments from former Chiefs receiver Gehrig Dieter.
“Kelce is a dawg! They don’t make ’em like him anymore,” the former undrafted free agent turned Super Bowl champion tweeted. “Anyone else would be milking that ankle injury.”
One fan called Kelce a “beast,” while another hailed him as the “GOAT” for his performance.
Fans seemed to agree on one thing: Kelce still has plenty of fight left in him. At 37, with a Hall of Fame-worthy resume, he’s still giving it his all.
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“PREACH! This dude is gonna play unless he doesn’t have a pulse this season,” one fan wrote. “And we are all here for it!”
Other fans noticed his passion, with one writing, “That’s right. He wants to play so badly! Pretty amazing.”
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The Chiefs could hardly afford to lose more players to injury this week, especially with Tyquan Thornton and Rashee Rice already out. But they took more hits as Sunday’s game went on.
“Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Jaylon Moore has a concussion, Travis Kelce played through an ankle injury, Jalen Royals was checked for a concussion, but he was OK, and Kingsley Suamataia got kicked in the calf,” Pete Sweeney reported.
It’s unclear whether Kelce’s ankle injury will force him to miss any time. He’s been a reliable presence for the Chiefs throughout his career, rarely missing games.
With their receiving corps already stretched thin, losing the 11-time Pro Bowler for any length of time would be a major blow to Kansas City’s offense.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.