Keenan Allen has a ways to go to break Antonio Gates' other Chargers record

Coming into the Los Angeles Chargers' Week 10 matchup on Sunday Night Football with the Pittsburgh Steelers needing just one reception to tie and two to break tight end Antonio Gates' all-time franchise record of 955. But while the six-time Pro Bowler did ultimately set a new mark, it took him a while to get there.

Allen was first targeted by Justin Herbert on the Bolts' second offensive possession of the game with a little under seven minutes remaining in the opening quarter, unsurprisingly on third down, only for the pass to result in an incompletion.

Herbert, who suffered a ankle injury that thankfully didn't end up being overly serious, didn't look Allen's way again until late in the first half, throwing another incompletion with roughly 20 seconds left on the clock in the second quarter before hitting Ladd McConkey for a 15-yard touchdown on the very next play to give Los Angeles a 12-3 heading into halftime.

Finally, on the Chargers' opening offensive possession in the third quarter, the two finally hooked up, with Allen catching a 12-yard pass on 3rd-and-8 to tie Gates' record. An attempt to break the record occurred early in the fourth quarter on a second-down play, but it resulted in yet another incompletion.

At long last, with time winding down and the outcome already determined with the Bolts holding a 25-10 lead, Jim Harbaugh allowed Allen to draw up his own play to get the record, with Keenan ultimately deciding on a simple speed sweep. So, with 2:56 remaining, Allen sprinted behind the line of scrimmage as the ball was snapped, took a quick shovel pass from Herbert for No. 956, and took it seven yards before being brought down by fellow future Hall of Famer T.J. Watt.

Sunday marked Allen's 149th career regular-season game with the Chargers, which makes his record that much more impressive, as Gates, who spent his entire 16-year career with the Bolts, needed 236 games to get to 955. The next record Allen will attempt to break will be Gates' franchise mark for receiving yardage, but that could prove difficult unless Keenan comes back for another season.

Keenan Allen needs 773 yards to become the Chargers' all-time leader in receiving yardage

When it comes to total career receptions, Allen surpassed Gates long ago, as he caught 70 balls a season ago during his one-year run with the Chicago Bears, thus giving him 1,056.

And as far as career yardage goes, Allen, who said after the win over the Steelers that he was going to do whatever it took to get back to Los Angeles, is right on Gates' heels, as those 1,056 receptions have gone for 11,813 yards, putting him just 28 yards shy of Gates' career total of 11,841.

In a Chargers uniform, however, Allen's 956 catches have gone for 11,069 yards. As such, simple math tells us that he still needs 773 yards to surpass Gates in that regard, which is obviously a tall order, seeing as how Los Angeles has only seven regular-season games remaining this season. Allen is having a fine season, but he's not going to average 110.4 yards per game the rest of the way. So, again, if he wants that record, he'll need another year.

And for those wondering where Allen stands in terms of breaking Gates' franchise record for receiving touchdowns, that's never going to happen. Not only does Gates hold the Chargers' record in that regard, but his 116 receiving scores are the most by any tight end in NFL history, and good for the seventh-most by any pass-catcher all-time.

Allen, meanwhile, ranks in a tie for 52nd all-time with 70 touchdown catches, and his 63 in a Chargers uniform are good for third in franchise history, trailing Gates' 116 and Lance Alworth's 81.