The Kansas City Chiefs certainly didn't plan to face the Detroit Lions without Travis Kelce as they kicked off the 2023 NFL season, but after Kelce was ruled out for the Week 1 showdown due to a bone bruise from his hyperextended knee injury, a much larger workload fell to KC's other tight ends.
Noah Gray, a 2021 fifth-round pick out of Duke, played 57 of the Chiefs' 65 offensive snaps (88%) while journeyman Blake Bell played 26 (40%) and practice squad elevation Matt Bushman played seven (11%).
Gray caught three passes on five targets for 31 yards and Bell caught two passes for 12 yards and one of the Chiefs' two touchdowns.
After the game, Gray discussed the Chiefs' challenging day, including Kelce's absence.
"We hate to see a guy like Kelce go down, a leader like that," Gray said. "We just continue to pray for him and hope he gets back as soon as possible. We just got to be better, work harder. That was a good Detroit Lions team, good defense. They came out and were ready to play, and they took it to us. We just got to get back out to practice, continue working hard, get back to the fundamentals. Like I said, just keep working hard and looking forward to next week."
Gray was also asked what the pregame experience was like as the Chiefs revealed their Super Bowl LVII Championship banner before kickoff.
"Yeah, we just tried to cancel out everything that was going on that was happening about last year and just looking forward to the Lions," Gray said. "That was a good football team. They came in and took care of business."
Bell was asked how he felt following the Chiefs' upset loss in the season-opener.
"Yeah, you know when you don’t get a W it always hurts a little bit more," Bell said. "(We) did some good things on offense, but we’ve got a lot to correct in just all areas. We’ll get back this week, that’s all you can do. Credit to the Lions. They played a great game and beat us, so we’ll just have to keep working and on to next week."
Did it provide any solace to score a touchdown in a game that ended in a loss?
"I mean, it’s good to get in the endzone, but I want to win the game, so whatever it is for the team to win, that’s all that matters,” Bell said.
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