Tag: Jerry Rice

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce reveals motivation to keep playing in the league: ‘Love going to work’

Kansas City #Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce reveals motivation to keep playing in the league: ‘Love going to work’ | @EdEastonJr

Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce shot down rumors of a possible retirement earlier in the week. During Thursday’s press conference, he revealed his motivation to keep playing next year and potentially beyond.

“Early on in my career, I think a lot of my motivation was driven off of individual success,” said Kelce. “wanting to get that acknowledgment of my peers, of the people watching the game that I was somebody fun to watch or I was worth watching, or I was worth having on your team, nowadays I just love going to work with the guys that I’m in the building with.”

Kelce has the most postseason receptions, with 174 in NFL history, and ranks second all-time in postseason receiving yards with 2,039. Postseason touchdown receptions with 20, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.

“I love sharing these memories. I love figuring out these game plans, figuring out how we’re going to attack a defense,” said Kelce. “There’s just a certain love that I’ve found in it, and I think it’s because of the people that I go to work with.”

On Sunday, Kelce will become the third tight end to appear in five Super Bowls, joining Marv Fleming and Rob Gronkowski.

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce broke postseason record in win vs. Texans

#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce broke a record set by legendary #49ers WR Jerry Rice in Kansas City’s divisional-round playoff win over the #Texans

Tight end Travis Kelce set a number of records this season and has now broken yet another after the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Houston Texans on Saturday.

Kelce finished the game with seven catches for 117 yards in Kansas City’s divisional-round playoff victory, marking his ninth career 100-yard game in the postseason.

With his outstanding showing against Houston, Kelce broke a record set by legendary San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice, who had eight such  playoff performances over the course of his illustrious career.

The Chiefs’ public relations account paid tribute to the All-Pro tight end’s historic accomplishment in a post to Twitter:

 

Fans can expect Kelce to continue adding to his impressive list of postseason accomplishments when Kansas City faces off against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, January 26.

Stay tuned to see how the former Cincinnati Bearcat fares against Buffalo’s stingy secondary during the AFC Championship Game.

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce’s postseason excellence will be essential on three-peat journey

Kansas City #Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s postseason excellence will be essential on three-peat journey | @EdEastonJr

The polarizing career of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce featured many moments of success in the postseason. He is one of the league’s most productive players this time of the year and a significant reason for the Chiefs to think three-peat.

“I could look back on a lot of the teams that we had success on, and those were the most fun teams to be on; you could feel it in the building. Right now, it is such a blast coming in and going to work with the guys that we have,” said Kelce during his Week 17 postgame press conference. “It is more unique and more different than any year I’ve ever been a part of because of the way we’ve won and how we’ve had to keep focusing on getting better, knowing we were coming away with wins.”

Kelce has the most receptions (165), second-most receiving yards (1,903), and touchdown receptions (19) among all players in postseason history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (2,245 receiving yards 22 touchdown receptions).

The Chiefs will await their opponent in the Divisional Round but understand that a productive Kelce is essential to their championship formula.

Saints Super Bowl champ says they wouldn’t’ve let Mike Evans pad his stats

Former Saints Super Bowl champ Scott Shanle says he and his coaches wouldn’t have let Mike Evans pad his stats: ‘No way he’s getting that record on us’

Sunday’s win over the New Orleans Saints was especially meaningful for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans. Evans tied the record set by Jerry Rice for the most seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards in NFL history (11), but he had to pad his stats to do it. The Bucs took over with a comfortable lead in the final seconds after rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler’s final pass fell incomplete, but they made time to get Evans a quick pass before kneeling out the clock.

And some Saints defenders took offense at that, swiping at the ball after the whistle and visibly showing their frustration. But hey, if you don’t want it to happen, stop it. That’s what Saints fans have told Atlanta Falcons faithful for years after Drew Brees and Darren Sproles ran up the score on them back in 2011. And that’s the message former Saints Super Bowl champion Scott Shanle shared on social media.

“The guys I played for would have doubled that dude Mike Evans like it was a punt return,” Shanle wrote of the pivotal play. “No way he’s getting that record on us!”

That’s exactly the aggressive approach previous Saints defensive coordinators like Gregg Williams were known for. And maybe it would’ve made a difference on Sunday. Either way, Evans got his record, and the Saints defenders who failed to stop him will be steaming about it until their next chance at evening the scales in 2025.

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Bucs WR Mike Evans continues to move up all-time receiving ladder

Starring down the barrel of tying Rice’s record, it was clear that Baker Mayfield and the Bucs’ offensive game plan was to feed Evans.

Playing in the 11th season of his Hall of Fame career, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans is at the point where everything he does moves him up the ladder as one of the NFL’s all-time great wide receivers.

As Sunday’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers got underway, Evans was 182 yards shy of tying the NFL’s greatest wide receiver of all time, Jerry Rice, by logging his 11th straight 1,000-yard season. Starring down the barrel of tying Rice’s record, it was clear that Baker Mayfield and the Bucs’ offensive game plan was to feed Evans.

Catching all three first-quarter targets, Evans registered his 11th 60+ reception season in as many years. In doing so, Evans tied with Jerry Rice, Derrick Mason, and Travis Kelce with the fourth-most consecutive 60-catch seasons in NFL history. What sets Evans apart from Rice, Mason, and Kelce is that the Buccaneers superstar wide receiver is the only player to accomplish such a feat every season to begin their career.

His two first-half touchdown receptions make things sweeter for the 11-year veteran, giving him 11 on the year. With the first touchdown, Evans totaled 10 on the season, giving him double-digit touchdown receptions for the sixth time in his career, the fifth-most in NFL history. Evans’s second touchdown of the day gave him the 24th multi-touchdown game in his career, tied for the sixth-most in NFL history.

Commanders’ WR Terry McLaurin makes NFL history

Further proof of McLaurin’s greatness.

Quickly, name the only four NFL receivers in history to accomplish a milestone of 50 catches and 900 receiving yards in each of their first six seasons.

Well, first, let’s settle the matter of Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin becoming the fourth NFL player to reach these receiving statistics on Sunday against the Saints.

That’s right. Only four receivers have accomplished these plateaus in NFL history for various reasons. Injury is a major reason, as players get injured occasionally.

In the last 30 years, the game has changed to much more of a passing game, yet still, only four receivers in the previous 30 years have caught 50 passes and accumulated 900 receiving years in their first six NFL seasons.

When you consider the quarterbacks who have started for Washington during his six seasons, McLaurin’s accomplishments become even more noteworthy. Here are the quarterbacks who were passing to McLaurin:

  • 2019: Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, Colt McCoy
  • 2020: Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen, Alex Smith, Taylor Heinicke
  • 2021: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen, Garrett Gilbert
  • 2022: Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke, Sam Howell
  • 2023: Sam Howell, Jacoby Brissett
  • 2024: Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota

Going through the list leaves one shaking their head, wondering how it is that McLaurin accomplished this.

OK, who are the other three NFL receivers in modern history who have accomplished these statistics in their first six NFL seasons?

Remarkably, no, not even Jerry Rice. Rice had 49 receptions in his rookie season and began his Hall of Fame credentials.

No, not Art Monk. The NFL season was cut to nine games in his third season due to the players’ strike.

Gary Clark? No. In his fourth season, Clark accumulated 892 receiving yards, falling short by a mere eight yards.

Randy Moss? Yes, you are correct. Further, Moss was, in fact, the very first NFL receiver to reach these heights in each of his first six NFL seasons. In his seventh NFL season, he had only 49 receptions, falling a single reception short of reaching these levels in his first seven seasons.

A.J. Green? Yes, Green accomplished these numbers for his first seven NFL seasons, all with the Bengals. Thus, Green was the first to have 50 receptions and 900 receiving yards in his first seven seasons.

Mike Evans? Evans lives on a planet different from other wide receivers. He has accomplished these numbers for each of his first ten NFL seasons. Of course, he is the only receiver in NFL history to accomplish this in his first ten seasons. In addition, though he missed three games this season, he is on track to again reach these marks in 2024 for his 11th consecutive season!

*In fairness to great receivers like Moss, Rice, Monk, and Clark, none of those guys had the opportunity to play in a 17-game NFL season. From 1978-2020, the NFL played 16-game regular seasons, beginning 17-game schedules in 2021.

Puka Nacua joined two Hall of Famers as the only NFL players to accomplish rare feat

Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Lance Alworth are the only other NFL players to accomplish what Puka Nacua did on Sunday

Puka Nacua has had a lot of eye-popping performances already in the NFL despite only being in his second season, but his game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday might’ve been his best yet. Nacua caught 12 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, while also adding 16 yards rushing and a touchdown on a career-high five carries.

His 162 yards receiving were the third-most he’s ever had in a game and his 178 yards from scrimmage were the second-most of his career, but he accomplished something in Week 14 that only two other NFL players ever have – and they’re both Hall of Famers.

According to NFL.com, Nacua became just the third player in league history with at least 160 yards receiving, one touchdown catch and one rushing touchdown in the same game. The other two are Jerry Rice, who did it twice, and Lance Alworth.

That’s some rare company for Nacua to keep and it shows his versatility as a playmaker on offense. Not only was he incredibly productive as a receiver, but his 16 rushing yards kept the chains moving and all of them picked up positive yardage except for one where he lost 3 yards.

It’s obviously still very early in his career, but if Nacua stays healthy, he’s on a path to becoming one of the best receivers in franchise history.

George Kittle could be top 3 pass catcher in 49ers history with big Week 8

George Kittle could surpass a couple of 49ers legends on the all-time receiving yards list with a big game in Week 8.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has a chance to cement himself as a franchise legend with a big game in Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Never mind for a moment Kittle’s gregarious personality, which combined with his productivity has already put him in the realm of all-time greats in 49ers history.

A big Week 8 showing could land Kittle at No. 3 in the 49ers’ all-time receiving yards list. He’s entering the week at No. 5, but he needs just 102 yards to leap into the top three.

Here’s what the top-five looks like entering Sunday night’s game:

1. WR Jerry Rice: 19,247
2. WR Terrell Owens: 8,572
3. WR Dwight Clark: 6,750
4. WR Gene Washington: 6,664
5. TE George Kittle: 6,649

Kittle is already more than 1,000 yards clear of Vernon Davis for the most receiving yards by a TE in franchise history.

It’ll be interesting to see if Kittle can eventually track down Owens. Kittle is on track for exactly 1,000 yards in 2024. That would put him at 7,274 yards –leaving him 1,298 yards shy of Owens. Two more years with 650 yards in each season would be enough to climb to No. 2 in 49ers history. He’d need to average 433 yards per season with the 49ers if he plays for three more years in San Francisco.

Before trying to track down Owens, however, Kittle needs to play in Week 8. He’s dealing with a foot sprain that held him out of Wednesday’s practice. He returned Thursday, which is a good sign for his chances to play against the Cowboys and continue his trek up the 49ers’ all-time receiving yards leaderboard.

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Chargers WR Brenden Rice making presence felt at training camp

The son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice is looking to secure a roster spot.

There is competition for the back end of the Chargers’ wide receiver room, and one player who is making a strong push for a spot is rookie Brenden Rice.

Rice, the son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, has made several big catches throughout training camp, with his latest coming on Wednesday. Easton Stick delivered a nice pass and Rice reeled it in with an over-the-shoulder grab.

If Rice continues to make plays like this the rest of the summer, he might not only make the roster but could also be a nice complementary piece in Year 1.

Rice is a big receiver with strong hands and a good sense of route running. He is also willing to block in space.

Rice tallied 84 career catches for 1,402 yards and 16 touchdowns while at USC. He began his college career at Colorado.

Jerry Rice threatens reporters after perceived trolling about 49ers Super Bowl loss

Don’t disrespect the 49ers in front of Jerry Rice.

49ers Hall of Famer Jerry Rice took exception to a question from a couple of reporters from Kansas City at the American Century Championship golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

In a wild video posted by TMZ Sports’ Michael Babcock, Rice is seen cursing at the reporters who asked him if the Chiefs’ receiving corps was good enough to win another Super Bowl.

The reporters claimed they were aiming to find out from Rice, the consensus greatest wide receiver of all-time, if Kansas City had improved its group of WRs enough to continue winning championships. Last season the Chiefs’ receiving corps was criticized throughout the year, but they figured out a way to hoist a Lombardi Trophy.

Rice told TMZ he believed the reporters were smirking at him and trying to troll him. He took enough exception to the question to hurl an expletive at the reporters.

Here’s the video via TMZ:

Rice told TMZ Sports he’s going to back the club that he spent 16 of his 21 NFL seasons with.

“I’m going to defend the San Francisco 49ers,” he said. “This is my history.”

The Hall of Fame receiver is a frequent attendant at 49ers games, so it’s not a surprise he took exception to what he thought was disrespect aimed at the club.

Rice notched 1,281 receptions with 19,247 yards and 176 touchdowns in his 16 seasons with the 49ers. He’s also the NFL’s all-time leader in all of those categories.

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