Bear Digest

Bears' Colston Loveland set to take postseason torch from Travis Kelce

The magical Mahomes-Kelce postseason connection may be in the past, but a new one is ready to take its place.
Pete Martuneac|
Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears made quite a bit of history with their unbelievable comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers in Saturday night's Wild Card showdown, but perhaps the most impressive mark was set by rookie tight end Colston Loveland. He finished the game with eight catches for 137 yards, the first time any rookie tight end has ever recorded eight or more catches for 100 or more yards in a playoff game.

On top of that, Loveland was targeted an incredible 15 times on the night. That's nearly a full third of Caleb Williams' 48 pass attempts, and Loveland's 137 yards accounted for almost 40% of the total passing game yardage. That connection is why both players earned game balls in the Bears' triumphant Wild Card victory.

In a word, Loveland has been impressive in his NFL debut, and he appears to have become Caleb Williams' go-to target. Exhibiting that kind of trust in a rookie tight end is rare, but Loveland has proven worthy of it. And after a playoff debut like that, it's fair to speculate that the ceiling on the Williams-Loveland connection is through the roof.

Some may say this is too bold, but I'm seeing a lot of similarities to the Patrick Mahomes-Travis Kelce connection that has dominated NFL postseasons for the past eight years. If you look at the stats, Loveland's first playoff game with Williams is nearly equal to Kelce's production in his first two playoff games with Mahomes.

Colston Loveland (1 game)

Travis Kelce (2 games)

15 targets

15 targets

8 receptions

10 receptions

137 yards

131 yards

0 touchdowns

1 touchdown

None of this is to say that Bears fans should start thinking about three Super Bowl trophies and seven years of hosting the NFC Championship game, but it's hard to overstate the impact that Loveland is having for the Bears as a rookie. When looking for comparisons, the one that keeps coming to mind is Kelce. And when you add in how much trust Williams has already displayed in Loveland, Kelce, and Mahomes once again comes to mind.

Remember, Loveland is doing this all as a rookie with a second-year quarterback and a first-year head coach. This is arguably the lowest point for this offense under head coach Ben Johnson, and it's already among the NFL's best. That should terrify the rest of the league. Injuries may force the Bears to scramble ahead of their Divisional Round matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, but the Rams better be focused on disrupting the Williams-Loveland connection.

Colston Lovelan
David Banks-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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