Chiefs’ Travis Kelce passes Jerry Rice for most playoff catches, has most conference championship TD grabs

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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — two Super Bowl rings, four First-Team All-Pro selections and nine Pro Bowl nods — has long been in the conversation for greatest player to play the game at his position.

Now he has a case for being the best playoff pass-catcher in NFL history. With his seventh catch against the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday’s AFC championship game, Kelce passed Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (151 postseason catches), unanimously regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time, for the most catches in NFL playoff history (152). 

Kelce also did something Pro Bowlers Sam LaPorta, George Kittle and the rest of the tight ends to face the Ravens this season couldn’t do: Score a touchdown on Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton. The score marked Kelce’s sixth receiving touchdown in an AFC championship game, the most in conference championship game history. He passed Steelers great John Stallworth, who had five receiving touchdowns in conference championship games.

The Ravens’ 2023 First-Team All-Pro entered Sunday with two interceptions and no passing touchdowns allowed when covering tight ends this season, allowing a completion percentage of 46.7% (7-15). That all changed on the second drive of the AFC title game against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. 

On first-and-10 from the Baltimore 19, reigning NFL and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes floated a pass to the right, front corner of the end zone, and his top target, four-time First-Team All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, boxed out Hamilton to make diving catch for the game’s first touchdown. That play gave Kansas City an early 7-0 lead. 

Hamilton went stride-for-stride with Kelce, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, as he was…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/chiefs-travis-kelce-passes-jerry-rice-for-most-playoff-catches-has-most-conference-championship-td-grabs/

Author : Garrett Podell

Publish date : 2024-01-28 21:22:14

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