DeAndre Hopkins used his first Chiefs TD celebration to show Titans love

When the Kansas City Chiefs acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a trade with the Tennessee Titans, several skeptics wondered how much production the aging veteran would be able to provide.

The 32-year-old wideout spent the first eight years of his career dominating opposing secondaries despite playing with a carousel of middling quarterbacks. During that span, Hopkins compiled seven 1,000-yard seasons, five Pro Bowls, and three first-team All-Pro selections. However, injuries and offensive instability over the past four seasons have resulted in a significant dip in production.

Still, it didn’t take long for the wideout to silence any doubters. Hopkins propelled the Chiefs to a narrow 30-24 overtime victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. In just his second game with the team, Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

DeAndre Hopkins gave a nod to the Titans in breakout game with Chiefs

With Kansas City trailing, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw up a prayer to Hopkins near the end of the first half, and the wideout miraculously snatched it out of the air for a 35-yard gain. 

Three plays later, he scored his first touchdown with the team on a short goal-line pass that gave the Chiefs a 10-7 lead. Hopkins celebrated the touchdown by paying homage to his former team with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”

Some fans perceived the celebration as a slight to his former team, where he produced just 1,230 yards and eight touchdowns over 23 games. Hopkins took to social media on Tuesday morning to clear up any misunderstanding about his intentions.

“It was a shout to Tennessee, if u know me u know it’s nothing but love for Nashville,” Hopkins wrote on X. “[Titans general manager Ran Carthon] and his crew are like family. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”

Mahomes became the 14th quarterback to throw a touchdown pass to Hopkins in his illustrious 12-year career. That long list of quarterbacks includes Brandon Weeden, Brock Osweiler, Tom Savage and T.J Yates. 

It’s safe to say that Mahomes is the best quarterback that Hopkins has had the luxury of playing with, and Hopkins is the best wide receiver that Mahomes has had the luxury of throwing to since speedster Tyreek Hill left the team.

Mahomes’ ill-advised throw into triple coverage in the second quarter had a 12.3 percent completion probability, per NFL Next Gen Stats. That pass likely would have been intercepted in prior weeks, but Hopkins has proven to defy probability. Instead, that play led to Mahomes’ first of three touchdown passes.

Mahomes threw three passing touchdowns for the first time this season, and he also posted a season-high completion percentage of 77.3.