Travis Kelce paid tribute to Tony Gonzalez on Wednesday after he broke the Chiefs’ touchdown record, recreating the franchise legend’s iconic touchdown celebration.
Kelce’s fourth-quarter touchdown grab was the 77th of his career in the regular season, surpassing Gonzalez’s 76 at Kansas City.
And the new record holder honored Gonzalez after the 12-yard catch by dunking the ball through the uprights, as the Hall of Famer often did.
Gonzalez then congratulated Kelce on X and was clearly elated to see his celebration recreated.
“Congratulations to my husband @tkelce on becoming the all-time @Chiefs leader in touchdowns! Keep glowing paths my friend! [by the way] Nice dunk,” he wrote.
“You know, I had to show love to the greatest of all time!!,” Kelce replied. “You said you’d help me with the fine.”
Travis Kelce dunked the ball through the uprights in tribute to Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez
Gonzalez, now an analyst at Prime Video, congratulated Kelce on X for breaking his record
The 35-year-old also had his 1,000th career catch in the game, still third on the all-time list
Kelce was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after his celebration during the Chiefs’ 29-10 victory.
Tight end Jimmy Graham was previously fined $30,000 for a pair of goalpost dunk celebrations in 2014, so Kelce is probably right to expect a fine as well.
Kelce also had his 1,000th career catch in the game, though he still ranks third all-time on that list — far behind Gonzalez and former Cowboys star Jason Witten.
The 35-year-old had eight catches for 84 yards in the game, bringing his season total to 97. He also has 1,004 catches in his career.
Gonzalez has still surpassed Kelce in that category with 1,325 career receptions. Witten ranks among Chiefs legends with 1,228 catches.
The two-time defending Super Bowl champions (15-1) raced to an early 13-point lead and were never really threatened by the Steelers (10-6), who dropped three in a row as their chances of clinching the AFC North grew bigger again. hit.
Mahomes connected with Xavier Worthy and Justin Watson in the first half and Kansas City’s defense did most of the rest, even with perennial All-Pro defensive end Chris Jones sitting out while suffering a calf injury.
The Chiefs sacked Russell Wilson five times, forced two turnovers and hardly appeared gassed as they played for the third time in 11 days.