Prior to today’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers, only 14 men had ever caught 1,000 passes in their career. That number has now gone up to 15.

Heading into the game, Kelce had 996 career receptions and needed just four to enter the rare group of players with 1,000. Well, quarterback Patrick Mahomes made sure to feed his star tight end and by the end of the third quarter, Kelce needed just one more to reach the mark. He got his on a big pass over the middle that put the team in scoring position just before the start of the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs would score on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 22-10

In reaching 1,000 career receptions, Kelce becomes just the third tight end in history to reach the milestone. Only Tony Gonzalez (1,325) and Jason Witten (1,228) have more at the position.

In the fourth quarter, Kelce passed Hines Ward for the 14th most in NFL history with a touchdown catch. Ward retired with exactly 1,000.

But Kelce may need another year to start passing some of the other all-time greats who have reached the milestone.

By most metrics, 2024 has been a down year for Kelce. His yards per catch and yards per game have both been career-lows as star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has struggled to move the ball as efficiently as we’ve gotten used to.

But Kelce had such an unbelievable 10-year start to his career that he was able to climb that all-time ranking very quickly. He has enjoyed nine straight seasons of at least 80 receptions and seven straight seasons with at least 90 catches.

Kelce has made the Pro Bowl every year since 2015 and there’s every reason to believe that he’ll make it 10 in a row this season.

Christmas Day has been a truly remarkable one for Kelce. Between the Happy Gilmore 2 trailer, his team’s impending win over the Steelers and his personal milestone, this is one Christmas he won’t soon forget.

How high in the all-time catch rankings will Kelce climb?