There wasn't a lot for the Kansas City Chiefs (or their fans) to get excited about on Sunday night, as their undefeated season came to a close in the Pacific Northwest in the form of a 20-3 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Patrick Mahomes had his worst game of the year thus far, earning an abysmal 58.3 passer rating after completing just 19 of 33 passes for 165 yards and tossing an interception. The same can be said of Kenneth Walker III, who was stifled by his former team to the tune of a season-low 36 yards on 14 carries. The same can also be said for Harrison Butker, who missed a pair of field goals. And while the defense didn't technically have its worst game of the season, Steve Spagnuolo's unit still wasn't great, surrendering 410 total yards to the Seahawks' offense.
But despite this dreadful defeat, those who tuned in did at least get to see some history, as Travis Kelce, on National Tight Ends Day, of course, not only moved into the top five on the NFL's all-time receptions list but also technically became the league's all-time leader in receiving yards for a tight end.
Travis Kelce surpassed two legends to move into the top five on the NFL's all-time regular-season receptions list
As you saw above with how Mahomes performed, nobody really had a big night as far as pass-catching was concerned, with Kelce tying with Walker for the team lead with four receptions and tying with fellow tight end Noah Gray with 44 yards.
The 11-time Pro Bowler entered Sunday night's matchup with exactly 1,100 regular-season receptions. With catch number one, a 4-yarder that didn't come until roughly midway through the third quarter, he tied Cris Carter for sixth at 1,101. With catch number two, an 18-yarder just a few minutes later, he tied Marvin Harrison Sr. for fifth at 1,102. And with catch number three, a 19-yarder early in the fourth quarter, he obviously moved into sole possession of fifth at 1,103, adding a 3-yarder on the Chiefs' final offensive play of the game to get to 1,104.
If Kelce wants to move up any further on the list, he'll have to play beyond this season, as he now needs 125 more grabs to surpass longtime Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten. Here's how the top five now shakes out:
- Jerry Rice: 1,549
- Larry Fitzgerald: 1,432
- Tony Gonzalez: 1,325
- Jason Witten: 1,228
- Travis Kelce: 1,104
Kelce now has the most receiving yards ever by a tight end (but only if you include the postseason)
With his 44 yards against the Seahawks, Kelce upped his career total to 13,345, but that's only if you count the regular season.
And in that regard, the 37-year-old still sits in second place on the all-time list among tight ends, trailing the great Tony Gonzalez, who tallied 15,127 regular-season yards over the course of his 17-year career, the first 10,940 in his dozen seasons in Kansas City and the other 4,187 in five years with the Atlanta Falcons.
But when you take the postseason into account as well, the two legends flip-flop.
Sadly, Gonzalez only appeared in seven playoff games throughout his career, four with the Falcons and three with the Chiefs. And in those seven outings, he tacked on an additional 286 yards, thus bringing his overall total to 15,413. Kelce, meanwhile, has appeared in 25 postseason contests, amassing another 2,078 yards to bring his all-new total to 15,423.
So, again, while there wasn't much to be excited about for the Chiefs in their first loss of the year, National Tight Ends Day at least proved to be a historic one for No. 87.
Add us as a preferred source on Google