- The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 on Thursday night.
- Despite the win, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce still might have left the game with a bruised ego.
- Kelce was stuffed at the goal line, picked up, and bodyslammed by Chargers safety Derwin James in the most shocking hit of the NFL season thus far.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is quite large.
Listed at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Kelce is both big in general and football big. He also happens to be the most dominant tight end in the NFL since Rob Gronkowski was in his prime.
Up until last night, I had never seen Travis Kelce look small.
But in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers, Kelce caught a ball from quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the red zone. As he made his move for the goal line, Chargers safety Derwin James met him short of the end zone, lifted him all the way into the air, and bodyslammed him into the ground.
It is the most jaw-dropping feat of strength I have ever seen on a football field.
Dear reader, I yelled at my television.
—Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 16, 2022
James is also large by most standards, but compared to Kelce, James (listed 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds) is no giant.
And yet, when one unstoppable force met another immovable object, James held his own.
Every squat James took this off-season must have been worth it for this precise moment.
On Twitter, fans quickly compared James' show of force on Kelce to a wrestling move.
—SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 16, 2022
—Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) September 16, 2022
—Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 16, 2022
Inside the stadium, the move was just as impressive at full speed.
—Cameron Magruder (@ScooterMagruder) September 16, 2022
The Chiefs may have won the war on Thursday night, but in that specific battle, James walked off victorious.