Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s record-setting AFC title game underscores his amazing year
In the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game victory over the Buffalo Bills, Travis Kelce added to the mounting pile of evidence proving he’s having the best season by a tight end in NFL history.
Kelce, of course, finished the regular season with 105 receptions for 1,416 yards and 11 touchdowns. He broke NFL’s single-season receiving yards record. He was one of just two players this season voted in unanimously as First-Team All-Pro, earning his third selection in his career. Nevermind, his success off the field, earning the Chiefs’ nomination for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and winning the social media Charity Challenge.
In AFC Championship Game against the Bills, Kelce was targeted 15 times, catching 13 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. This performance helped him set and match numerous NFL records, rewriting the league’s postseason history books in the process.
According to NFL Research, Kelce accomplished the following:
Set the record for the most receptions by a player in a conference championship game
Set the record for most single-season yards by a tight end (combined playoffs and regular season).
Became one of just three players to have seven or more catches in 10 consecutive games.
Travis Kelce has set the record for most receptions (13) in a Conference Championship game in the Super Bowl era
Kelce surpasses Michael Irvin (1994 vs SF)
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 25, 2021
Travis Kelce passed Rob Gronkowski (1,585 rec yards in 2011) for most rec yards by a tight end in a single-season in NFL history (including playoffs)@tkelce @Chiefs
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 25, 2021
Travis Kelce has joined Antonio Brown and Julian Edelman as the only players since at least 1950 with 10 consecutive games of 7+ receptions (including playoffs)@Chiefs @tkelce
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 25, 2021
But wait, there’s more. Kelce now owns the second-most career postseason touchdowns (9), receiving yards (859) and receptions (73) in league history, behind only Rob Gronkowski. Kelce also became the first tight end in NFL history to achieve five games with 100 or more receiving yards in the postseason.
“It’s all I know how to do,” Kelce said following the game. “Just attack the day, find a weakness or find something that I can get better at when I’m out in the building and out on the practice field. When I watch film I’m my own worst critic, man. I tell myself that I’m a scrub all the time when I see myself not doing something the right way or getting locked up.”
I think it’s safe to say that Kelce isn’t a scrub, but his eye toward constant improvement has put him on the path to achieving the best season by a tight end in NFL history. With the biggest game of the season on the horizon, Kelce will have a chance to further emphasize his dominance.
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