Travis Kelce proved that the rumors about his decline were a bit overstated on Sunday, as he became the Kansas City Chiefs’ all-time leader in receptions.
Kelce had seven catches for 89 yards while helping the Chiefs come back to win 17-10 against the Los Angeles Chargers. With his second catch, he surpassed Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez for the franchise record.
Kelce chose not to talk to reporters in the locker room after the game.
Despite a slow start in his first three games this season, where he made only eight catches for 69 yards, coach Andy Reid didn’t stress the need for Kelce to have a big game.
“I really don’t care what anybody thinks, to be honest with you,” Reid said. “I watch what the defense does and how they respect him, so I take it off of that. And I watch Trav every day, so I get to see how he works and how he never wants to come out in practice or in the game. He’s all in all the time, so I don’t worry about all that.”
Kansas City’s wide receivers also showed their support by wearing custom Kelce T-shirts during pregame warmups.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who said Kelce’s slow start was due to extra attention from opposing defenses, also wasn’t concerned about his main target’s early lack of receptions.
“I mean, the whole Kelce thing in general hasn’t been a worry to me,” Mahomes said. “I know whatever we need, he’s going to make plays. And that’s what he did today.”
The nine-time Pro Bowl tight end made a 38-yard catch on the third play of Kansas City’s opening drive to tie the record of 916 catches held by Gonzalez, which he set over 12 seasons from 1997 to 2008. Kelce then caught a 5-yard pass on the Chiefs’ fourth drive to break the record early in his own 12th season with the team. He now has 922 receptions.
