The 2023 Chiefs may break some major franchise records

Health permitting, next season should rewrite team history.

The biggest focus for the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs will undoubtedly be defending their title after winning Super Bowl LVII. However, when they take the field in September, their most famous trio will also be in line to overcome franchise legends in setting team records.

Head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and tight end Travis Kelce are undoubtedly the best Kansas City has seen in their respective roles. Should the Chiefs maintain their level of play from recent seasons, 2023 will see the three past members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame lead the franchise in historical categories (all statistics are from Pro Football Reference).

Most regular-season coaching wins

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By winning two Super Bowls, there cannot be any doubt that Reid has passed Hank Stram as the greatest coach in Chiefs’ history. He appears set to return to Kansas City to pursue a third title — seemingly brushing aside pregame speculation that he may retire. Barring a disaster of a 2023 season, Reid will pass the legend in perhaps the lone remaining notable metrics.

With eight wins next season, Reid will officially be Kansas City’s winningest with 125 regular season victories. That it will happen with the coach’s second franchise in only 11 seasons — and paired with an unparalleled 12 postseason Chiefs’ victories — is even more remarkable. Reid has never won fewer than nine games over his decade on Kansas City’s sidelines.

Most receiving yards in team history

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A generation ago, a less heralded coaching staff and front office began their tenure in Kansas City by trading future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez. Simply put, Chiefs fans had never seen a player like the 1997 first-round selection. Even after a 14-year absence from Kansas City, Gonzalez remains the team record holder for receptions (916), receiving yards (10,940), and receiving touchdowns (76).

Kelce likely is held in higher esteem than Gonzalez, regardless of milestones. Entering his 11th season, however, Gonzalez’s once seemingly unattainable club marks are within Kelce’s reach.

Kelce currently stands 596 receiving yards behind Gonzalez’s Chiefs’ total. Assuming health, the two-time Super Bowl champion — with seven consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons — should pass him near the season’s midpoint.

Gonzalez’s other categories are on the table as well. Kelce needs 103 receptions and eight touchdowns to set new franchise bests. He has met or exceeded the needed catches three times in his career — including his 110 receptions in 2022. Kelce’s touchdown totals have varied from season to season, though he has found the end zone more than eight times each of the past three seasons.

A complicating factor could be Kelce’s declining snap counts over the past four seasons. While passing Gonzalez in receiving yards next season seems almost certain, the other marks may wait until 2024 — if the Chiefs start managing Kelce’s usage to extend his career.

Most passing yards by a Chiefs’ quarterback

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Early in the season, Mahomes paid tribute to the late Len Dawson, honoring the iconic Chiefs’ quarterback with a choir huddle in the Chiefs’ final exhibition game. Though he last saw the field in 1975, Dawson continues to top the franchise in passing yards (28,507) and passing touchdowns (237).

After only five seasons as Kansas City’s starter, the reigning league MVP is a mere 4,266 passing yards behind Dawson. The only season Mahomes has passed for fewer yards than the gap came in 2019 — his first Super Bowl-winning season when he missed two games after suffering a knee injury. Even a below average season — by his incomparable standards — would likely see Mahomes comfortably set a new mark.

The league’s best quarterback is also closing in on Dawson’s Chiefs’ touchdowns record. Mahomes needs 46 scores through the air to become the new franchise leader. He had only reached that mark in a single season once — during 2018, his first year as a starter, when he threw for 50 touchdowns.

One of Mahomes’ most underrated accomplishments is how slowly he is climbing a list that no quarterback wants to be a part of. His next two interceptions will bring his career total to 51 — passing Steve DeBerg for fifth-most in team history. Fortunately, he will still comfortably be behind Mike Livingston’s fourth-place total of 83. Time and passing volume may see him one day reach Dawson’s undesirable team record of 178 picks, though Mahomes would need more than 13 seasons at his career interception rate for it to be a concern.