When Jerry Rice caught the last postseason pass of his NFL career, his playoff records appeared to be insurmountable: Rice retired with 151 catches for 2,245 yards and 22 touchdowns in the playoffs, career numbers that looked impossible for any player to match.
But now Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is coming close.
With seven more catches and 71 more yards in Saturday night’s playoff win over the Dolphins, Kelce now has 140 catches for 1,619 yards and 16 touchdowns in the postseason in his career. He’s second only to Rice in NFL history in all three categories.
Kelce could surpass Rice in career playoff catches during this year’s playoffs. With only 11 more catches needed to tie Rice’s record, that’s something Kelce could do in one good game, and certainly can do if the Chiefs get two or three more games this postseason. Kelce won’t catch Rice in yards this year and is unlikely to catch him in touchdowns, but playing another year or two for a good Chiefs team could get him there.
Even being mentioned alongside Jerry Rice in NFL history is a significant accomplishment, but Kelce is coming close to putting his own name above Rice’s in the record book.
