Nov 16, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) and tight end Robert Tonyan (85) in the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Mahomes-Kelce Earn Elite Compliment From Bruce Arians

Originally posted on Kansas City Chiefs on SI
By Dominic Minchella | Last updated Dec 19, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The duo of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce has been one that every fan of the NFL knows. Since Mahomes arrived in Kansas City and became the starting quarterback, the duo has elevated itself to new heights, no pun intended.

Including the playoffs, Mahomes and Kelce have combined for 897 completions for 10,667 receiving yards and have scored 77 touchdowns. Former Super Bowl-winning head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bruce Arians, joined Pat McAfee to discuss and complement the duo of the Chiefs.

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Arians' Thoughts

"This tandem has been great for 10 years. And you know, they just passed Grump and Brady for I think the most touchdowns in the playoffs. And Antonio Gates just went Hall of Fame. And these combinations, I go way back to John Mackey and John Unitas, was I thought was one of the greatest too," Arian told McAfee.

"Him and Mahomes. There's no design play. He's just go out there and get your a** open. I'll get it to you."

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Now that Mahomes is hitting the injured reserve for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury, all eyes have turned toward Kelce and are questioning if this is it. Not knowing the timeline of Mahomes' return, Kelce could be nearing the end of his days as a tight end in the National Football League.

Following Mahomes' injury, Kelce spoke on New Heights to give his thoughts on his teammate and friend.

Kelce on Mahomes

"We lost our quarterback, Patty Mahomes, our guy, our brother, our fearless leader, our face of the franchise, to an ACL. It’s never easy seeing your guys go down. We had a bunch of guys get hurt this past game, and we fought. We fought, we had some guys fight through some stuff," Kelce said.

If this is the end of Kelce and Mahomes playing alongside each other, the duo is one that Chiefs Kingdom should be thankful for, because it's not every day you see two players with such a connection on the football field.

Kelce still has at least three games left in his career as the Chiefs play the Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, and Las Vegas Raiders before they end the season. Kelce will add to his career stats with Gardner Minshew as his quarterback; not ideal for the Chiefs, but that's the best they can do with the cards that have been dealt.