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Travis Kelce made history on a night that gave the Kansas City Chiefs little else to celebrate. The three-time Super Bowl champion caught four passes for 44 yards on eight targets in Sunday night’s 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.
That was enough to pass Tony Gonzalez for the most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history, playoffs included. The milestone came on National Tight Ends Day, of all days.
Kansas City never reached the end zone, though, and fans who reacted to the record also reacted to the score.
Kelce went into the night needing 35 yards to pass Gonzalez, whose 15,413 career receiving yards included 15,127 in the regular season and 286 in the playoffs. The 37-year-old began Week 7 with 15,379 yards of his own, 13,301 in the regular season and 2,078 in the postseason.
Notably, playoff yards made the difference, since Kelce started the night 1,826 regular-season yards behind Gonzalez. Kelce played in 25 playoff games through his first 13 seasons, while Gonzalez played in seven. Kelce passed him on his third catch of the night, with Kansas City down by double digits in the fourth quarter. He finished with 15,423 combined yards, 10 more than Gonzalez.
Several fans who took notice of Kelce’s feat were proud of the star tight end and frustrated with the rest of the night. One fan wrote, “Bright spot in a dismal game!”
Another fan agreed: “That’s the only good to come out this game.”
Kansas City finished with 213 total yards and 11 first downs, went 3-of-11 on third down, ran for 50 yards on 16 carries, and never got into the red zone. Kelce also tied Noah Gray for the team lead in receiving yards.
Patrick Mahomes completed 19 of 33 passes for 165 yards. He threw an interception and was sacked once. Harrison Butker made one of his three field-goal tries, a 50-yarder in the third quarter that gave the Chiefs their only points.
Another fan felt two things at once: “Glad he got it. Wish we had a better showing.”
For this fan, the milestone came with a catch: “He’s the GOAT, but he’d rather just win the game.”
Not everyone was in the mood to celebrate. One fan was blunt: “No one cares if you don’t win.”
Meanwhile, every yard Kelce gains from here extends the combined record, both for the rest of the regular season and in any playoff games Kansas City plays.
Gonzalez still holds the regular-season record for tight ends, and Kelce now has 13,345 regular-season yards.
Entering Week 7, Pro Football Network’s NFL TE Impact Grade had him at 86.5, third among 40 graded tight ends. The loss dropped the Chiefs to 5-1, but they’re still first in the AFC West. They play the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Nov. 1.