Sunday night gave the Kansas City Chiefs almost nothing to celebrate, but Travis Kelce still walked away with a couple of major milestones tucked into a 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Kansas City’s undefeated start ended in the Pacific Northwest, and it was a rough night all around. Patrick Mahomes turned in his worst performance of the season, finishing with a 58.3 passer rating after going 19 of 33 for 165 yards and an interception.
Kenneth Walker III was held to a season-low 36 yards on 14 carries against his former team. Harrison Butker missed two field goals.
And while the defense didn’t post its worst outing of the year, Steve Spagnuolo’s group still gave up 410 total yards.
Kelce, though, made history on National Tight Ends Day.
With a quiet receiving night by his standards - he tied Walker for the team lead with four catches and matched Noah Gray for the team lead with 44 yards - the 11-time Pro Bowler climbed into the NFL’s top five all-time regular-season receptions list and also moved into the top spot for receiving yards by a tight end when the postseason is included.
He entered the game with 1,100 regular-season catches. His first grab, a 4-yarder around the middle of the third quarter, pushed him past Cris Carter into a tie for sixth at 1,101.
A few minutes later, an 18-yard reception moved him past Marvin Harrison Sr. and into fifth at 1,102. Early in the fourth quarter, a 19-yard catch gave him sole possession of fifth place at 1,103, and he added one more 3-yard reception on Kansas City’s final offensive snap to finish at 1,104.
If Kelce wants to keep climbing that list, he’ll need another season. He now sits 125 catches behind Jason Witten, who is fourth all-time.
The yardage milestone comes with a split view, depending on how the numbers are stacked. Kelce’s 44-yard night moved his regular-season total to 13,345, which still leaves him second among tight ends behind Tony Gonzalez’s 15,127. Gonzalez piled up 10,940 of those yards with the Chiefs and another 4,187 with the Atlanta Falcons over 17 seasons.
But once the playoffs are folded in, Kelce edges ahead. Gonzalez played in seven postseason games and added 286 yards, giving him 15,413 overall. Kelce has appeared in 25 playoff games and produced another 2,078 yards, which brings him to 15,423.
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The reaction online split quickly, with some fans rolling their eyes at Collinsworths commentary and others pointing to Mahomes competitiveness as exactly why the praise keeps coming. For the Chiefs, the bigger takeaway is less about the broadcast booth than the familiar sight of their quarterback refusing to stay out of a play, even when the whole thing briefly looks lost. [Read more 🡒]