Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce set NFL records and other stats of note from Sunday
A week ago, no one knew for sure if Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes would play in the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills.
Mahomes didn’t just help the Chiefs beat the Bills 38-24, he also set a pair of NFL records in the process.
As the Chiefs noted, Mahomes had three touchdown passes, which gives him 17 in postseason play.
That’s the most in NFL history among a player in his first four seasons, supplanting the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson.
It’s worth noting Mahomes didn’t play in the postseason in his rookie year.
MOST POSTSEASON TD PASSES IN FIRST FOUR NFL SEASONS
1. 17 Patrick Mahomes (7 games)
2. 16 Russell Wilson (10 games)
3. 15 Kurt Warner (7 games)
4. 13 Dan Marino (6 games)
5. 12 Ben Roethlisberger (7 games)
ESPN Stats & Info noted is the first player in NFL history with three touchdown passes and no interceptions in three conference championship games.
Mahomes’ 2,054 postseason passing yards are the third-most for a player’s first four seasons in the NFL.
Not to be outdone, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce set a record, too. He had 13 catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. No player, whether it’s a tight end or wide receiver, has had more receptions in a conference championship game in league history.
This is from NFL Research:
The Chiefs noted that Kelce has the second-most postseason receptions (73), receiving yards (859) and touchdown catches (9) of any tight end in NFL history behind Rob Gronkowski of the Buccaneers.
Gronkowksi has 83 catches for 1,206 yards and 12 touchdowns in 19 playoff games. Kelce has appeared in 11 playoff games.
Here are three other statistics of note from Sunday’s game.
1. The Shark swims to the top
Frank Clark had two sacks of Bills quarterback Josh Allen, giving him the Chiefs franchise postseason record in that category.
1. 7.0 Frank Clark (5 games) 2019-20
2t. 6.5 Derrick Thomas (10 games) 1989-99
6.5 Neil Smith (9 games) 1988-96
4. 5.0 Aaron Brown (6 games) 1966-72
5. 4.0 Justin Houston (7 games) 2011-19
2. On the attack
ESPN’s Ed Werder said the Chiefs pressured Allen at a rate higher than has been seen before:
3. Big Red moving up
Chiefs coach Andy Reid got his 17th career postseason victory, which moved him into a tie with former Washington coach Joe Gibbs for the fourth-most in NFL history.
The Chiefs shared this list of the most career playoff victories:
1. 31 Bill Belichick
2. 20 Tom Landry
3. 19 Don Shula
4t. 17 Andy Reid and Joe Gibbs
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 12:18 PM.
