Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes. JC Olivera/Getty Images

Patrick Mahomes gushed about his friendship with Travis Kelce after the pair connected for a crucial completion on the Kansas City Chiefs’ game-winning drive on Sunday, December 8. 

“He means the world to me, man,” Mahomes, 29, told reporters of Kelce after the team’s 19-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. “Without getting emotional, he’s a guy that has really kind of made me who I am in my career.”

In the final minutes of Sunday’s game at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, Mahomes found Kelce, 35, for a vital third down completion that set up kicker Matthew Wright’s game-winning 31-yard field goal. 

“A true leader on the football field,” Mahomes continued about Kelce. “Someone I can just go to at any moment and he’s going to make a big play happen. As he’s done throughout his career, he’s never dropped off as far as his work ethic and the way he leads. I think that’s super important.”

Patrick Mahomes Discusses Emotional Relationship With Travis Kelce He Means the World to Me:

In Kelce’s 12th year in the NFL, Mahomes called the tight end “the hardest working dude on the team.”

“He plays on the same wavelength that I do,” Mahomes added. “It’s hard to do that. It takes guys time. But from the first day, I’ve kind of been on that same page with Trav. Seeing him work every day —  everybody sees the personality on the TV and stuff like that — but you don’t see that every day work ethic that he has. He’s the guy that gets mad when they take him out of practice routes.”

Despite the praise, it hasn’t exactly been a picture perfect season for Mahomes and Kelce, who have still only connected on two touchdowns as their schedule enters its final stretch. 

Kelce, who had five receptions for 45 yards on Sunday, recently opened up about the frustration he’s felt about his lack of production. 

“Where I take a lot of pride is once we get in that red zone, man,” Kelce said on the Wednesday, December 4, episode of his “New Heights” podcast. “I get a little hungrier. Right now, for whatever reason this year, I just can’t find my way in the end zone. I’m just not on the same page as Pat. It can get frustrating. It can get f—ing frustrating. That’s for damn sure.”