KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce drew a personal foul early in the fourth quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 29-10 win Wednesday against Pittsburgh, but Andy Reid wasn't ready to toss a lump of coal into his Christmas stocking.
Kelce caught a 12-yard touchdown off a hesitation-turned-go route, which allowed him to slip behind the Steelers' defense and alone in the Acrisure Stadium end zone for an easy pitch and catch from Patrick Mahomes.
It was Kelce’s 77th career touchdown reception, breaking a tie with Tony Gonzalez for the most in franchise history.
To celebrate, Kelce ran to the middle of the field and dunked the ball over the crossbar — mimicking Gonzalez’s signature touchdown celebration, which the NFL subsequently outlawed and made an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
“We know how iconic it was that he would dunk the ball over the goalpost all the time,” Kelce said. “I gave my best effort. I don't know if I did it quite like him, but I gave it a run.”
Reid generally prefers that his players avoid willfully drawing a penalty, but he also has a deep appreciation for the history of the game — and Kelce's place in it, particularly.
“In tribute to Tony, not to my wish, but he did the dunk,” Reid said. “So, Tony, if you're out there, that was your pat on the back there. That's all out of respect for you, man.”
Asked if he warned Reid that he planned to draw a flag with his celebration, Kelce said, “No, no,” and cracked an ornery smile. “I knew the score, and I knew that my guy Harrison had my back on the field goal, so it was just showing Tony some love and just a big tribute to who he's been — not only in this organization but who he's been for football.”
Gonzalez owns the most significant tight-end receiving records and racked up 916 catches for 10,940 yards with 76 touchdowns in 12 seasons with the Chiefs before finishing his 17-year career in Atlanta.
Harrison Butker, who had missed a 48-yard extra point after another penalty on a touchdown celebration earlier in the game, did indeed drill the point-after following Kelce's score — and no one seemed to mind the 15-yard flag.
“He's done so much for this organization — on and off the field,” said Mahomes, who has thrown 54 of Kelce's record TD haul. “For him to have the career that he's had has been special. I know at the end of the day he wants to win the ring more than anything, but it's awesome that he can have that accomplishment.”
Kelce reached the franchise milestone in 175 games across 12 seasons, while Gonzalez played 190 games in 12 seasons with Kansas City from 1997 to 2008.
"I've been trying to get him a touchdown for the last few weeks," Mahomes said. "I wanted to do it at Arrowhead. That play that Xavier (Worthy) almost caught last week, I was trying to throw it to him (Kelce) — and obviously it didn't happen. But I was happy that we got it done in the regular season, and now we can just play football.”
The record-breaking touchdown wasn’t Kelce’s only major milestone in the game.
With a 19-yard catch and run late in the third quarter, Travis Kelce became the 15th player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career receptions.
He’s only the third tight end to reach that milestone — joining Gonzalez (1,325) and Jason Witten (1,228), who rank third and fourth, respectively, in NFL history.
“Kels — I mean, what more can say about him?” Reid said. “Every time we come out here, he sets some kind of record.”
Kelce added another catch on the drive to move alone into 14th place in all-time receptions — passing Steelers legend Hines Ward, who had 1,000 catches in 14 NFL seasons all with Pittsburgh.
After racking up eight catches, which was tied with Worthy for the game-high, and a game-best 84 yards, Kelce has 1,004 receptions and 12,151 receiving yards in a career destined to end with a gold jacket and a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio — his home state.
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