When the Kansas City Chiefs face the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, many eyes will be on the champions looking to win their third straight title. Andy Reid’s team has a chance to make a statement, but there will also be some individual benchmarks set along the way.
Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting stats and milestones the Chiefs’ stars can achieve in Week 1.
Information courtesy of the Chiefs’ official Week 1 game notes.
Patrick Mahomes’ greatness cannot be quantified with just one number, but with a solid performance against Baltimore, he can rise even higher in Chiefs history. With just 84 passing yards on Thursday night, the two-time NFL MVP will pass Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and Kansas City legend Len Dawson in passing yards. Mahomes currently has 28,424 yards in his career, and may be just a big quarter away from becoming the franchise leader in yards. That’s impressive, especially for someone who isn’t even a decade into his career.
Over the years, Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce have established themselves as perhaps the best duo in the NFL. Whether in the regular season or the postseason, the league’s best quarterback and tight end never fail to shine. Their 51 combined touchdowns, which are third-best of all time, prove that. With one more touchdown in Week 1, Mahomes and Kelce can break the tie with former New Orleans Saints greats Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham and maintain third place.
Speaking of Kelce, he can make a splash alongside Mahomes this week. He’s currently tied with longtime Dallas Cowboys star Jason Witten with 74 touchdowns, so one more touchdown could put him in the top five tight ends of all time. With two touchdowns, he can tie Tony Gonzalez for the most in Chiefs history. With 907 career passes caught, he needs just nine more catches to tie Gonzalez, who holds the Kansas City record, and could overtake him with a 10-catch performance against Baltimore. He has two (or more) such games in the 2023-24 regular season and one in the playoffs.
To date, Creed Humphrey has yet to miss a start for the Chiefs. It’s safe to say his level of consistency and toughness contributed to the record-breaking contract extension he signed last month. With 51 consecutive regular-season starts, Humphrey is expected to rank 52nd on Thursday night. Assuming he can pull that off, he’ll tie defensive lineman Art Still for the third-most consecutive starts to start his career with the Chiefs.
