For most of the past 40 years a Raiders receiver held the NFL record for postseason receptions. First it was Fred Biletnikoff who took the record in 1977. Then he was surpassed by teammate Cliff Branch who set the new record in 1983. Branch held the record for ten years until it was surpassed by Jerry Rice in 1993.
Eight years later, in 2001, Rice would join the Raiders, thus bringing the postseason receptions record holder back to the Silver and Black.
Rice would grab that record and run with it. The final 27 of his postseason receptions came as a Raider, giving him 151 for his career. Upon his retirement in 2004, he had nearly twice as many postseason receptions as the next on the list — Michael Irvin with 87.
That also means that 40 of the last 50 years the NFL postseason receiving record belonged to a Raiders receiver.
When you have as sizable a lead in a category as Rice had, it seems like it may never be surpassed. Well, it took two decades, but the day has finally arrived. And it was a tight end who did it.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce came into the AFC Championship six catches shy of Rice’s record. He would get that in the first half. And we officially have a new all-time record for career postseason receptions.
Kelce would finish the game with 11 catches, putting him at 156 postseason receptions. And since the Chiefs won, he will have at least one more game — the Super Bowl — to add to it.
The closest active receiver to Kelce is former teammate Tyreek Hill who has 96 catches. The next three are Julio Jones (77), Davante Adams (72), and Stefon Diggs (69).