After frightening injury, Travis Kelce’s return for Chiefs reaffirms he’s a superstar

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce crumpled into the treacherous slit film turf on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, hobbled off the field and radiated pain and distress as he was being attended to on the sideline.

The anguished body language made it easy to conjure season-ending worst-case scenarios, and a shudder went through Chiefs fans if instant social-media posts and text messages were any indication.

By the time he limped off the field to get his ankle X-rayed while the Chiefs were driving late in the second half, the prospect of Kelce’s return to this game against the Vikings seemed far-fetched.

And even Patrick Mahomes, his close friend, alter ego and yin to his yang, figured he was better off avoiding the matter at halftime.

“I don’t like to talk to Travis when he’s hurting, because he’s a mean guy,” the Chiefs’ superstar quarterback said, smiling.

With the score tied 13-13, the Chiefs seemed to rather optimistically deem Kelce “questionable” at the start of the second half. But Kelce immediately joined the team on the field.

Heck, even when he returned in full uniform and helmet on and trying to limber up, you had to wonder whether it was wishful thinking or even intended as a strategic distraction to the Vikings.

Turns out even coach Andy Reid was unclear about his status.

“Until he came out and told me,” Reid said after the Chiefs improved to 4-1 with the 27-20 victory.

Kelce’s message, per Reid: “‘Just give me a minute. Let me see what I can do here.’”

What he could do, it turned out, was something between spectacular and mind-bending. And it was an emphatic reminder that all the stuff swirling around him put together — such as the Taylor Swift hysteria and his off-the-charts “New Heights” podcast and even the “Mr. Pfizer” bit with Aaron Rodgers — isn’t what it’s all about for Kelce.

Instead, it’s the reason he’s enjoyed that sort of spotlight to begin with: Because he’s a Pro Football Hall of Fame-bound player who even at 34 is enhancing a portfolio to be considered the best ever at his position.

Beyond the 10 catches for 67 yards and a key touchdown, he added a dimension to that Sunday in an effort encapsulated in his words as he walked off the field, repeatedly tapping a finger into his chest. In video captured by Fox 4, Kelce hollered to the crowd, “All heart, baby! All heart, baby!”

(Kelce did not speak with the media after the game.)

As he demonstrated yet again last postseason, Mahomes knows something about remarkable resilience. And as much as he might have figured he’d best leave well enough alone with Kelce working through the injury, you couldn’t call Mahomes surprised he returned.

“I feel like Travis has the same mindset as I do: If you give him a window (to) get back in the game, he’s going to get back in the game,” Mahomes said. “That’s why he’s one of the greatest.”

The Chiefs actually had weathered Kelce’s absence well, moving for a field goal to end the half and taking a 20-13 lead on the opening drive of the third quarter (on Rashee Rice’s touchdown catch, enabled by Mahomes’ third-and-18 connection with Justin Watson for 33 yards).

But the next series was vital to the final result, and nothing was more essential to the drive than the return of Kelce — who stoked the rest of the sequence with a stupefying 14-yard reception on third and 7.

With Vikings safety Josh Metellus, back turned to the ball, running at Kelce, Kelce soared to grab the ball over Metellus even as his arms became entwined with Kelce’s. As Kelce fell backward with Metellus sprawling over him, he clung to the ball as he brought it into his helmet and hit the ground.

In any instance, the sheer degree of difficulty would have made it among the most memorable catches of his career. In the context of the ankle injury, it was incredible and indelible.

“Put it up to the big guy,” Mahomes figured.

Crazy circumstances notwithstanding, the result was customary.

“Big-time catch in a big moment in the game,” Mahomes said.

Someday, before too many more years, alas, we’ll learn what it’s like for Mahomes to play without someone he not only trusts so deeply but can work with almost telepathically.

And before they connected on a 4-yard touchdown pass that provided the final margin of difference in the game, they concocted another in their ad-lib catalog on a third-and-8 from the Minnesota 11.

In this case, the defense didn’t bite on Mahomes’ pump-fake to the left sideline to primary target Kadarius Toney, with Kelce playing a decoy role on the same side.

Improvising, Mahomes scrambled up into the pocket and suddenly looked like he was running a basketball fast break when Kelce broke the play accordingly.

“Travis was supposed to be on the sideline, and luckily he was running across the field,” Mahomes said, smiling.

Good thing. Because Mahomes had the sense it was one of those moments where, “Awwww, I’m going to get crushed” … only to see “Eight-Seven running free.”

Same as ever, somehow, even when Eight-Seven could barely walk before halftime.

Whether he can go this week, especially with a scheduled Thursday night game, is another matter. He’ll be sore, Reid conceded, and Kelce limped out of the locker room.

But he’ll be back, maybe sooner than later.

And while it might be worrisome to ponder how much he means to this team and what the Chiefs would lose without him after such a scare, it’s also quite a thing to appreciate something as essential to the legacy of this era of Kansas City football.