KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce established an NFL record Sunday against the Denver Broncos, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth straight season, the longest streak in league history for a tight end.
Kelce reached barrier with an 11-yard catch in the first quarter, giving him exactly 1,000 yards on the season. He previously shared the mark with Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, who posted three-straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2014 to 2016.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said last week he believes the 30-yard-old Kelce still has some of his best football ahead of him.
“He wants to get better,” Reid said. “That’s probably more important than the ability to get better. He wants to get better in all areas of his game which makes it enjoyable to coach the guy. You see him grow over the years as a player and a teammate and all those things. He’s got great ability. He knows how to play the game. He’s another one of those guys that has a good feel for it.”
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes said this week there's more to Kelce's importance to the Chiefs offense than his statistics.
“I think the biggest thing with Travis is he does all these things but the type of person he is, is the greatest thing he can do," Mahomes said. "He’s able to try to help everyone else out to get open and when his number is called, he just makes the play and does whatever he can to move the chains or score the touchdown and help the team.”
The seventh-year pro made history in Week 11 when he became the fastest tight end in league history with 450 catches and 6,000 yards in a career. He performed the feat in 91 career games, three faster than Hall of Fame member Kellen Winslow and seven games faster than retired Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
