Travis Kelce and the Chiefs’ blend of longevity and dominance has the tight end on the verge of NFL history.
Kelce has had the luxury of appearing in the playoffs in nine of his prior 11 NFL seasons as a member of the Chiefs. In his rookie year in 2013, injuries held him back from playing for Kansas City throughout its season, including its loss in the wild-card round. In 2014, Kelce’s squad missed the bracket despite a 9-7 record.
Since then, Kelce has been catching passes in NFL playoff games on an annual basis, most of them coming from Patrick Mahomes. Now, as he enters his 10th playoff run with Kansas City in Year 12, Kelce is inching closer to Jerry Rice’s all-time playoff touchdowns record.
As the Chiefs look to take down the Texans in the AFC divisional round to begin a potential run to a three-peat, here’s a look at where Kelce stands in his pursuit of Rice’s historic playoff record.
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Most touchdowns in NFL playoffs history
Rice leads all players in NFL history with 22 receiving touchdowns in the playoffs. As things stand entering the 2025 postseason, Kelce is just three touchdowns away from tying Rice — and four away from claiming the new receiving touchdowns record.
Here’s the leaderboard of all-time playoff touchdown receptions:
| Rank | Player | Team(s) | Years | Playoff rec. TDs |
| 1 | Jerry Rice | 49ers, Raiders, Seahawks | 1985-2004 | 22 |
| 2 | Travis Kelce | Chiefs | 2013-2024 | 19 |
| 3 | Rob Gronkowski | Patriots, Buccaneers | 2010-2021 | 15 |
| 4 | John Stallworth | Steelers | 1974-1987 | 12 |
| 5 | Fred Biletnikoff | Raiders | 1965-1978 | 10 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | Cardinals | 2004-2020 | 10 | |
| Antonio Freeman | Packers, Eagles | 1995-2003 | 10 | |
| Randy Moss | Vikings, Raiders, Patriots, Titans, 49ers | 1998-2012 | 10 | |
| Hines Ward | Steelers | 1998-2011 | 10 | |
| 10 | Andre Reed | Bills, Washington | 1985-2000 | 9 |
| Steve Smith Sr. | Panthers, Ravens | 2001-2016 | 9 | |
| Lynn Swann | Steelers | 1974-1982 | 9 | |
| Reggie Wayne | Colts | 2001-2014 | 9 |
When factoring in rushing touchdowns, the top of the list is pretty similar. Rice’s 22 scores are also the most total touchdowns in playoff history, followed by Emmitt Smith and Thurman Thomas, who are tied with 21.
Kelce ranks second on the playoff touchdown receptions list, but he ranks fourth on the total playoff touchdowns leaderboard with 19.
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Travis Kelce vs. Jerry Rice playoff stats
Note: NFL all-time rank in parentheses.
| Games | Receptions | Yards | TDs | |
| Jerry Rice | 29 | 151 (2nd) | 2,245 (1st) | 22 (1st) |
| Travis Kelce | 22 | 165 (1st) | 1,903 (2nd) | 19 (2nd) |
As Kelce enters the 2025 playoffs, he has already claimed one of Rice’s all-time playoff records. With 10 catches in the 2024 AFC Championship game against the Ravens, Kelce moved into first place on the all-time playoff receptions list.
However, with seven fewer playoff games under his belt, Kelce trails Rice in both playoff receiving yards and touchdown catches. On both leaderboards, Kelce ranks second. On top of the three-touchdown difference between Rice and Kelce, the Chiefs tight end would become the NFL’s all-time leading playoff receiver with 343 more yards.
Kelce, 35, may not have a ton of time left in the NFL, but he still remains one of the league’s top tight ends. In the regular season, he posted 97 receptions for 823 yards and three touchdowns.
It could take just one more deep playoff run for Kelce to surpass Rice in all three major playoff receiving categories, only furthering his future argument as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
