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Travis Kelce Hit With Penalty After Making History

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Dec 25, 2024 3:50 PM ET

Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season brought us a Christmas Day battle between Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.

After many weeks of waiting, Kelce was able to break a record many fans had been eager to see.

In the fourth quarter, quarterback Patrick Mahomes hit the former Cincinnati Bearcats in the endzone for a 12-yard score to increase the lead to 28-10. This marked Kelce's first touchdown catch of the game and the 77th of his career. In doing so, he passed Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez (76) for the most touchdown receptions in Chiefs history (any position).

After scoring the historic touchdown, Kelce took Gonzalez's popular celebration from his Hall of Fame career and dunked the ball over the goal post. This is now considered unsportsmanlike conduct in the NFL, a 15-yard penalty that was enforced on the extra point.

WHOLESOME: TRAVIS KELCE DUNKING THE BALL ON THE FIELD GOAL AFTER PASSING TONY GONZALEZ FOR THE MOST TOUCHDOWNS IN #CHIEFS HISTORY.

This is special.
pic.twitter.com/ScH1FSc8yr
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 25, 2024

Kelce hasn’t necessarily had the best statistical season of his 12-year career. Prior to Week 16, the tight end had recorded 89 catches for 739 yards and two scores, on track for his worst performance since 2015.

Still, the star tight end had an even more historic holiday than people realize. With Kelce's fourth reception of the game, he also reached 1,000 catches in his NFL career. He is now just the third tight end in league history to reach this number, with only Gonzalez (1,325) and former Dallas Cowboys star Jason Witten (1,228) ahead of him.

With a win, the Chiefs secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a bye week in the NFL playoffs. Up next for Kansas City is a battle against the Denver Broncos, the final game of the regular season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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