KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Travis Kelce has never cared much about individual statistics, even though the Kansas City Chiefs tight end has been putting up some eye-popping numbers ever since he arrived in the NFL seven years ago.
Hes the consummate team-first player. The only number that matters to him is the number of wins.
Well, all those catches and yards and touchdowns that Kelce keeps piling up happen to be a big factor in the number of victories the Chiefs have accumulated over the years. Kelce caught another 11 passes for 142 yards in leading them to a 23-3 rout of the Denver Broncos on Sunday, allowing them to keep pace in the race for a first-round playoff bye in the AFC.
Right now its just a bunch of numbers. Honestly, Im focused on winning games, said Kelce, who became the first tight end in NFL history with four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. It being a team sport, the individual accolades, you know, I like to kind of push them aside and try to focus on how I can get better for my teammates.
Get better? Maintaining his level of excellence is probably good enough.
Kelce has 1,131 yards receiving, which means hes closing in on another season that would rank among the top 10 in Chiefs history. The four seasons of 1,000 yards are matched only by tight ends Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Rob Gronkowski though none of them did it consecutively. And with 6,367 yards through his first seven seasons, Kelce has already shattered the NFL record for a tight end at this point in his career.
Making that last mark even more impressive is the fact that Kelce played one game and didnt catch a pass as a rookie. He underwent microfracture surgery on his knee and that delayed the start of his career. So really, he has more than 6,000 yards receiving in less than six full seasons, which puts him on pace with some of the leagues best wide receivers.
I mean, just how consistent he is on a game-to-game basis is truly special, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. Hes trying to win each game. Hes a competitor. He doesnt look at the stats. He doesnt look at all that stuff. Hes a competitor trying to win a football game. Hes a guy you want on your team.
Especially this time of the year. Some of Kelces best games have come late in the season and in the playoffs, and the Chiefs (10-4) could use a few more of them. They need to win their last two games against the Bears and Chargers and hope for the Patriots to lose to get a first-round playoff bye.
Travis is unbelievable, Chiefs offensive lineman Austin Reiter said. I love that guy.
WHATS WORKING
The massive offseason overhaul that Kansas City undertook on defense is finally paying off. The Chiefs have limited their past four opponents to 20 points or fewer, and two of the past three have failed to score 10 points. The Broncos didnt surpass 200 yards until late in the game Sunday.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
