Travis Kelce stats vs. Lions: How Chiefs TE posted season-high in receiving, opened up offense for Patrick Mahomes

Daniel Mader

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Travis Kelce stats vs. Lions: How Chiefs TE posted season-high in receiving, opened up offense for Patrick Mahomes image

With his fiancee in attendance and the Kansas City Chiefs needing a win to get back to .500, Travis Kelce had his second-straight solid performance in Week 6.

The veteran tight end, whose age has showed more often in 2024 and 2025, put up a new season-high in receiving yards in a "Sunday Night Football" matchup against the Detroit Lions. 

More importantly for the Chiefs, Kelce had a few catches that set up points against one of the NFC's best units -- and for a Kansas City team that entered at 2-3 and third in the AFC West, a 30-17 prime time win was a significant boost for its early playoff outlook.

Here's a look at how Kelce's reliable connection with Mahomes became a theme in Week 6 of "Sunday Night Football."

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Travis Kelce stats tonight

  • Receptions: 6
  • Yards: 78
  • AVG: 13.0
  • TDs: 0

While Kelce didn't find the end zone against Detroit, he was a major factor for Mahomes in the Chiefs' passing game. After making eight catches for 61 yards in Week 5 against the Jaguars, Kelce continued to be a difference-maker, proving he can still be a threat when called upon.

Not only were Kelce's 78 yards a new season-high, but they were his most in a game since the AFC Divisional Round of the 2024 playoffs against the Houston Texans, when he totaled 117 receiving yards.

It marked just the second time in six games this season that Kelce was Kansas City's leader in receiving -- something that wouldn't have been very surprising a year or two ago, but given his decline in numbers, was significant in itself. The Chiefs claimed a 30-17 win that pulled them back to .500 after a slow start.

With Rashee Rice set to return to the Chiefs next week, Kelce remained Mahomes' favorite target, leading the team in targets (seven) and receptions (six). Xavier Worthy also saw four targets for 20 yards and a touchdown, Juju Smith-Schuster had 57 yards, and Hollywood Brown found the end zone twice.

As an added bonus for him, Kelce also passed Jason Witten on the all-time list of receiving yards in primetime NFL games:

Daniel Mader

Daniel Mader is a Content Producer for The Sporting News. He joined SN in 2024 as an editorial intern following graduation from Penn State University. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, the Centre Daily Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Collegian and LancasterOnline. Daniel grew up in Lancaster, Penn., with a love for baseball that’ll never fade, but could also talk basketball or football for days.