By now, the football world is quite familiar with the Kansas City Chiefs‘ star players. Names like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are household ones, especially as the team digs itself out of an early-season hole after a slow start.
The latter superstar can make some history in Week 8. When the Chiefs take on the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football, Kelce has an opportunity to further etch his name in the record books.
Touchdowns are the name of the game for Kelce this week. As NFL Research pointed out, the future Hall of Fame man has the fifth-most scores since entering the league back in 2013. He leads all tight ends by over a dozen in that regard. It’s Kelce’s all-time accomplishments for the position, though, that can be doubled down on in Week 8.
Should Kelce find the end zone against Washington on Monday, he’ll join an exclusive club. One score would make him just the fifth tight end to ever notch 80 receiving touchdowns in a career. The current group includes Kansas City legend Tony Gonzalez, as well as football icons like Antonio Gates, Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham.
The greatness doesn’t stop there for Kelce. Per the Chiefs, he’s two touchdowns shy of tying longtime team running back Priest Holmes (83) for the most total scores in franchise history. Moving the chains is also a staple for Kelce. With a grab for a first down in Week 8, he can break a tie with longtime Dallas Cowboys great Jason Witten for the second-most for a tight end ever.
Just a single reception on Monday would extend Kelce’s team- and league-leading streak of 181 straight contests with a catch, too.
Kelce’s volume numbers are nothing to write home about in his age-36 season. The former third-round pick leads the Chiefs in receiving yards with 375, although he’s pacing for well short of 1,000 yards on the year. With that said, advanced metrics like success rate (72.5%), yards per target (9.4) and yards after contact per reception (6.7) reflect some of his most efficient football.
With the team managing Kelce’s workload, he’s making the most of every opportunity to add to his legacy.
Kelce isn’t the only Chiefs player who can rise up the leaderboards or maintain grips on history in Week 8. Mahomes, defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback Trent McDuffie have avenues to doing so as well.
Mahomes, one of the leaders for this year’s league MVP award, is off to a tremendous start. He’s back to filling up the stat sheet and having fun on the field, which shows. He’s thrown for three or more touchdowns in three of his last four games. Per the team, he ranks first in NFL history with an average of 287 passing yards per contest. With New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees sitting in second at 280.0, Mahomes won’t be losing that spot in Week 8.
Jones, the club’s best pass rusher, currently ranks fourth in team history with 82.5 career sacks. With three on Monday, a tall ask, he could tie Neil Smith for the third-most as a member of the franchise. Jones has just a pair of sacks this season, but per NFL Pro, his pressure rate remains in the double digits. The eye test depicts a player who can still go off for big games when needed.
Last, but certainly not least, is McDuffie. Should he luck into two sacks against the Commanders, he’d be tied for the most such plays by a cornerback in Chiefs lore. He already owns the Kansas City cornerback record for forced fumbles (7), which is a testament to his football smarts and quick reaction time.
The Chiefs will take the win over anything else, but it wouldn’t hurt if some of their stars lived up to their respective billings in a key matchup.
Jordan Foote is a seasoned sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com with an emphasis on the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers. He has years of experience publishing NFL and MLB content for Sports Illustrated’s On SI vertical, in addition to a background in NBA coverage for multiple outlets. Foote is a Baker University alumnus, earning his degree in Mass Media. He’s based in Kansas City. More about Jordan Foote
