Rob Gronkowski Becomes 5th-Fastest to 70 Receiving Touchdowns

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski recorded 89 receiving yards and one touchdown on eight catches during Sunday's 36-33 victory over the Houston Texans. In doing so, he became the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to record 70 receiving touchdowns, per NFL Communications.

Gronkowski required just 91 games to accomplish the feat, and each of the four players to achieve the feat faster has been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That list includes Lance Alworth (80 games), Jerry Rice (81 games), Don Hutson (85 games) and Randy Moss (89 games).

While the star tight end has reached that total quickly from a games perspective, reaching 70 touchdowns took the 28-year-old into his eighth season. He's missed 40 games throughout the early portion of his career while dealing with a myriad of injuries. When healthy, he's one of the most dominant players in the league, posting career 16-game averages of 74 receptions, 1,113 yards and 12 touchdowns.

He's gotten off to another great start this season to assist in the Patriots' 2-1 record, with the team's offense ranking best in the league in total yards (1,383). Gronkowski has contributed 238 of those yards and two scores on 16 receptions.

Gronk and the Patriots return to the gridiron to face the Carolina Panthers during Week 4. It certainly won't be a cakewalk for the tight end, attempting to get open against a Panthers defense allowing the third-fewest passing yards per game (162) through three weeks.