Samaje Perine: Travis Kelce lateral not scripted, gotta keep your head on a swivel

Running back Samaje Perine hasn’t been a member of the Chiefs for very long, but he’s been around long enough to know that you can’t take your eyes off the ball when it is in tight end Travis Kelce’s hands.

One of the highlights of Monday night’s 26-13 Chiefs win over the Saints was a play that saw Kelce catch a short pass on third-and-21 and then lateral across the field to Perine, who ran for 15 yards to set up a fourth-and-1 that the Chiefs converted on the next play.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen Kelce lateral to a teammate as he did it to Kadarius Toney for a touchdown last year only to have the score wiped out when Toney was flagged for being offside on the play. Perine saw that play and he’s seen Kelce lateral in practice, so he knew to keep his “head on a swivel” Monday night.

“It was not scripted, I can tell you that much,” Perine said, via Sports Radio 810 WHB. “I saw him do it a couple of times, he does it in practice, so I was like, ‘Let me stay in phase, just in case.’ And, sure enough, I saw him switch the ball and wind his arm back and I was just ready for it.”

Perine called it “crazy” to be part of Kelce’s “backyard football” and seeing the duo successfully pull the play off will definitely give opposing defenses a little more to think about as they prepare for the Chiefs in the coming weeks.