Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins’s second game with the Chiefs showed why the team made a trade with the Titans to acquire him last month.
Hopkins caught four passes in the first quarter and then hauled in a 35-yard strike from Patrick Mahomes despite having defenders all around him. That catch set up a one-yard touchdown and Hopkins added a second touchdown with just under five minutes to play in the game.
Mahomes found Hopkins once more on the game-winning drive in overtime and the veteran ended the night with eight catches for 86 yards. In his postgame press conference, Hopkins said he was “more comfortable” than he was in his Chiefs debut and Mahomes thinks even bigger things are ahead for his new teammate.
“I think as he figures out the whole entire offense he’ll get even better, because there’s some times he’s going places and I’m like, man, there’s a time and a place for that, but that’s what makes him great,” Mahomes said. “You give him a chance down the field, he makes a play. . . . To have a guy like that that can go up and make that catch in a crowd of defenders is a special type of player.”
In addition to his own numbers, Hopkins’s presence seems to be helping tight end Travis Kelce. He had 14 catches for 100 yards on Monday night and has 24 catches for 190 yards over two weeks with the wideout in the lineup. All of the numbers suggest that the Hopkins move is going to wind up being a very good one for the Chiefs.
