Being a part of history is nothing new for the franchise of the Kansas City Chiefs. From Lamar Hunt creating the American Football League to being a member of the first-ever Super Bowl, the Chiefs have been etching their fingerprints all over the 103-year-old history of professional football. As with any franchise, there is a good, a bad, and an ugly era in its history. For the love of the game, we will try to stay on the positive side of things today.
Let’s look at some National Football League records that are held by the Kansas City Chiefs. Today’s NFL is dominated by the passing game. To be successful, it makes sense that your team has to have an elite passer to compete. The Chiefs have had two elite passers in the history of the franchise. Patrick Mahomes has turned heads from the first game he played in the National Football League and continues to do so. Along with his head-turning play, Mahomes has some head-turning records. At this point in his career, Mahomes holds the record as the highest-rated passer in NFL history. Currently, he has a passer rating of 105.7. The next closest passer is Aaron Rodger with a rating of 103.6.
Passer rating is only where it starts with Patrick Mahomes. He also holds the record for the fewest games played to reach 10,000 passing yards at 34 games. Also, he holds the record for the fewest games played to reach 15,000 passing yards at 49 games, and the fewest games played to reach 20,000 passing yards at 57. Mahomes owns the record for the highest yards per game average with 303 yards. You get the point. He is a bad dude, to say the least.
Not only can Mahomes sling it, but he can also do it and find the endzone at an insanely high rate. To date, Patrick Mahomes owns the regular season record for the best touchdown per game average in NFL history. He averages 2.4 touchdown passes per game. These are just a few records that Mahomes holds, but there are many more that he is poised to take.
The other elite passer for the Kanas City Chiefs is Len Dawson. Yeah, that’s right! Even though Dawson played in an era of professional football that was run first, run second, and pass third, he was one of the elite passers of his time. Dawson holds the NFL record for the most seasons leading the National Football League in pass completion percentage. On eight separate occasions, Dawson led the league in pass completion percentage (1962,1964,1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1975). Also, he holds the NFL record for the most consecutive seasons leading the league in pass completion percentage with six (1964-1969). This is why Len Dawson is enshrined in the Nation Football League’s Hall of Fame.
If you have some historic passers in franchise history, it only makes sense that you would have some receiving record holders. One of those record holders is legendary tight end, Tony Gonzalez. The Hall of Fame tight end holds the record for the most consecutive seasons with 500 yards or more receiving for fifteen consecutive campaigns (1998-2013). This record is ridiculously insane because of the lackluster list of quarterbacks that Gonzales had throwing passes to him for the majority of his career.
Since we are on tight ends, let’s just speak of another future Hall of Fame tight end, Travis Kelce. Most would consider him an oversized wide receiver, but Travis Kelce has dominated at the tight end position for close to a decade. Currently, Kelce holds the National Football League record for the most consecutive 1,000-receiving-yard seasons for a tight end with seven (2016-2022). Not only has Travis Kelce been the standard for consistency for all tight ends in the league, but he holds the NFL record for the most receiving yards in a single season for a tight end, with 1,416 receiving yards (2020). Also, he holds the record for the fewest games to reach 6,000 receiving yards (91), the fewest games to reach 8,000 receiving yards (113), the fewest games to reach 9,000 receiving yards (127), and the fewest games to reach 10,000 receiving yards (140). It is safe to say that he is a bad dude, as well.
Looking at the stats, the tight end position has been the highest achiever of accolades for the Chief receivers regarding the NFL record book. With that said, wide receiver Stephone Paige found himself etched in the record books. On December 22, 1985, Paige had 258 receiving yards in a single half. A record that still stands to this day.
There are Chiefs littered all over the Nation Football League record books. Larry Johnson has the most rushing attempts in a single season (416), and the most games in a season with at least 25 rushing attempts. Jamaal Charles has the most yards gained in one quarter (165), and the highest rushing yards per attempt at 5.38. Priest Holmes has the most consecutive games with 50 or more yards rushing (38), the most rushing touchdowns at home in a season (16), and the highest average yards from scrimmage per game in a season with 163. Also, let’s not forget the defense. Derrick Thomas holds the record for the most sacks in a single game, with 7 in 1990. Chris Jones owns the record for the most consecutive games with a sack at 11.
Certainly, the Chiefs have had a significant impact on the history of the National Football League. There are 22 players or contributors that have been voted into the National Football League’s Hall of Fame. How many will be voted in from the current era? There are a couple of sure-fire selections, but no one knows the exact number. One thing is for sure, the Chiefs are continuing to impact the record books of the NFL and expanding the legacy of an already legendary and historic franchise.
