The Travis Kelce legacy just keeps on getting bigger and bigger.
What a sensational game we witnessed on Monday Night Football, October 10, 2022, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders.
The crowd at Arrowhead was rocking! The weather was perfect! The officiating was not so perfect – but the game turned out to be an exciting slugfest that held your attention all four quarters. Both teams left all they had on the field.
Chiefs win 30-29.
If the game had an MVP – most would agree this night belonged to Kelce. The Chiefs tight end had one of those games that will stand out after he retires, as we look back on his body of work.
What made this night special for Kelce was not his passing yards – he had a whopping 25. Kelce was the game MVP because he had four touchdowns.
FOUR TOUCHDOWNS! What Tight End does that?
Travis Kelce, that’s who.
Putting this Travis Kelce Legacy Game in Perspective
Throughout NFL history – only four other times has a tight end caught four touchdown passes in a single game.
Surprisingly, none of the others are named Tony Gonzales – a Chiefs tight end legend in his own right who is watching Kelce break all his records.
The other TEs with four touchdowns are (source):
- A wild piece of trivia – one of the four other times occurred in the same week! In week five of the 2022 season Tight End Taysom Hill caught four touchdown passes for the Saints in their victory over the Seahawks.
- Legend Mike Ditka caught four touchdown passes for the Chicago Bears in a game against the Los Angeles Rams in 1963.
- Jimmy Giles was a Pro Bowl TE for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who caught four TD passes in 1985 during a shootout against Dan Marino’s Miami Dolphins.
- Arguably the greatest TE in history – Kellen Winslow Sr. holds the record with FIVE touchdown receptions for the San Diego Chargers in 1981. Winslow was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995. He had 45 touchdown catches in his NFL career.
Kelce already has 64 touchdown catches in his career – and there’s no sign he’s slowing down.
Travis Kelce Legacy Watch👀-Keep Your Eye on These Records
We are only five games into the 2022 season, and Kelce already has 7 touchdowns. He had a total of nine touchdowns receptions all of last season. His career single season high is 11 touchdowns in 2020.
Kelce is on pace this year to have 24 touchdown catches.
Kelce only needs 19 touchdown receptions to set a new NFL record for tight ends. Rob Gronkowski currently holds the record with 18 TDs in 2011.
In case you’re wondering: the NFL record for receiving touchdowns is 23 – set by WR Randy Moss in 2007.
Those are lofty accomplishments, and Kelce is certainly talented enough to reach those heights.
Kelce has a better chance of setting a new KC Chiefs franchise record for receiving touchdowns in a single season. That record is 15 TD receptions, currently held by two wide receivers – Dwayne Bowe and Tyreek Hill.
More Perspective
Tony Gonzalez – who left his own twelve season legacy in Kansas City after being drafted by Marty Schottenheimer – set a lot of franchise records that Kelce will eventually break.
Gonzalez made 76 touchdown catches in KC. Kelce already has 64. He’s only 12 away from the franchise record for TEs, and could possibly break the record in 2022!
Gonzalez racked up 10,940 receiving yards as a Chief. Currently, Kelce is at 9,353. We are in week 5 of 2022, and Kelce is 1,587 yards away from breaking Gonzales’ franchise record for TEs. He will likely break this one in 2023.
The single season tight end franchise record for touchdowns is 11, and both Gonzalez and Kelce are tied for that record. Gonzalez made 11 touchdown catches in 1999 and Kelce caught 11 touchdowns in 2020. This is a record that Kelce should easily break in 2022 – barring no injuries.
I’m telling ya – the Travis Kelce legacy keeps getting more and more impressive.
How much longer will Kelce be a Chief?
Kelce is currently under contract with the Chiefs through the 2025 season. He will turn 36 during that final season.
No one knows how much longer he will play beyond 2025.
However, Chiefs fans can relax – Kelce plans to stay in Kansas City.
In a Sports Illustrated article, Kelce stated he wants to retire a Chief.
“I don’t plan on playing anywhere else. I hope the Chiefs have that in mind, too.” — Travis Kelce, Chiefs TE
SI.com
