The Kansas City Chiefs’ 34-28 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday featured a lot of standout efficiencies– both excellent and bad– but nobody’s polarizing outing made more ripple waves on a historical scale than tight end Travis Kelce.On the surface area
, Kelce’s numbers don’t appear to be anything uncommon. Four catches on nine targets for 71 yards and no goals is far from the very best stat line the future Hall of Fame pass-catcher has published in his profession, and it’s also far from the worst. As soon as the context of his performance in connection with the rest of his resume is factored in, though, it’s easy to see just how considerable of a game he had.Not just did Kelce extend his own NFL record streak of 1,000-yard seasons by a tight end to seven, but he likewise set a Chiefs franchise record with a seventh straight 80-reception campaign. In some way, neither of those feats was his most excellent against the Broncos. With a first-quarter reception of 37 backyards, Kelce became the fastest tight end to reach the 10,000-yard mark for his career and joined the similarity Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten and Shannon Sharpe as the only tight ends to ever achieve that feat.
After the game, Kelce’s appreciation followed a development. Initially, he highlighted how essential securing the win was. After that, he shifted focus to joining an elite all-time group. To end his idea, he tipped his cap to the numerous teammates and coaches he remains in Kansas City who have helped him get to where he’s at now: amongst the best gamers to ever place on cleats.
Scroll to Continue”Truthfully, today, the win means more than any of those stats. Everyone has actually sort of been discussing me getting those stats eventually this year, so it was on everyone’s radar. However to come up here and get a win and be a part of the crowd that is the 10,000 crew– Gates, Witten, Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe, the Bronco himself [and] the primary man I was chasing today, that boggles the mind business to be in. I have actually been very lucky that I have actually had the coaches and the players around me to be able to have as much success in the NFL as I have.”
At 33 years of ages, Kelce is having perhaps the very best season of his profession after being entrusted with serving as the Chiefs’ only elite target on offense. Working against Dad Time and other odds related to defenses keying in on him this year, he’s responded to the brand-new challenges in the post-Tyreek Hill era by hauling in 81 passes for 1,039 lawns and 12 goals in just 13 video games thus far in 2022. He’s now just 21 yards far from tying Sharpe on the NFL’s career leaderboard despite playing in 64 fewer video games, and his profession getting yards per game average is quite easily the best ever.
There will be a day, week, month or year in which Kelce will begin to decrease. Heck, he might physically currently exist in regards to burst or long speed. With that said, his mental acuity and understanding of the game are the very best they ever have been. His abilities to find various methods to get open prior to the catch and generate backyards after it stay undamaged and are first-rate.
Even as an elder statesman with lots of young and hungry tight ends ready to take his crown as the best in the league, Kelce is downing along at his exact same historical pace. Now, though, he has some extra awards to help prove it. He’s transcended being simply this generation’s best or most consistent (or offered) performer at the tight end area. He’s cemented his status as one of the greatest to ever do it, and that would still be the case if he announced his retirement from the NFL tomorrow.Kelce is showing
extremely few signs of slowing down, however, so it’s reasonable to expect him to keep contributing to his career totals for a minimum of a few years to come. Sure, some luck has actually been associated with his success, however he’s also just elite at what he does. That, integrated with one of the best head coach-quarterback duos ever, makes for one heck of an on-field support system. The fruits of that labor are here.