NFL tight ends celebrated in style Sunday, as they set a new record for touchdowns scored on National Tight Ends Day.
Tight ends recorded 16 TDs, with San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle scoring in the final game of the day as part of a six-catch, 128-yard performance on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys.
A pair of TEs found the end zone multiple times in the early slate of games Sunday. Kyle Pitts caught four passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns to help the Atlanta Falcons beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who saw their tight end, Cade Otton, finish the day with 81 yards and two scores on nine receptions.
Here are the tight ends who scored at least once.
| TE | Team | Opp | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Pitts | ATL | TB | 4 | 91 | 2 |
| Cade Otton | TB | ATL | 9 | 81 | 2 |
| George Kittle | SF | DAL | 6 | 128 | 1 |
| Mark Andrews | BAL | CLE | 5 | 36 | 1 |
| David Njoku | CLE | BAL | 5 | 61 | 1 |
| Tucker Kraft | GB | JAX | 3 | 78 | 1 |
| Tyler Conklin | NYJ | NE | 3 | 42 | 1 |
| Evan Engram | JAX | GB | 4 | 36 | 1 |
| Sam LaPorta | DET | TEN | 6 | 48 | 1 |
| Brock Wright | DET | TEN | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Travis Kelce | KC | LV | 10 | 90 | 1 |
| Dalton Kincaid | BUF | SEA | 4 | 31 | 1 |
| Adam Trautman | DEN | CAR | 4 | 85 | 1 |
| Nate Adkins | DEN | CAR | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Kittle’s third-quarter touchdown against the Cowboys was also Sunday’s 175th catch by a tight end, a new TE record for catches in a single day, according to NFL’s Dante Koplowitz-Fleming.
Five other TEs didn’t find the end zone but still led their team in yards or receptions:
- Trey McBride (ARI): nine catches, 124 yards
- Mike Gesicki (CIN): seven catches, 73 yards
- Hunter Henry (NE): five catches, 45 yards
- Zach Ertz (WAS): seven catches, 77 yards
- Brock Bowers (LV): five catches, 58 yards
Trautman made a spectacular one-handed catch in the end zone to help the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers.
Perhaps fittingly, Kelce – a future Hall of Famer – finally scored his first TD this season.
The fourth weekend of October has been known as National Tight Ends Day since Week 2 of the 2018 season when quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo unintentionally helped create the designation.
“We were on the sidelines after (former 49ers tight end Garrett) Celek’s score when Jimmy asked, ‘What is it, like National Tight Ends Day?'” Kittle recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s National Tight Ends Day. It’s a holiday. Tight ends all over the league are scoring touchdowns.’ That’s how it came to be.”
