AP

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is closing in on history.

Witten has hauled 97 passes this season for the Cowboys. He is now just five catches behind Tony Gonzalez for the single-season record for catches by a tight end. Gonzalez set the record by compiling 102 catches for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2004.

It’s a pretty incredible performance by Witten seeing that the start of his season was nearly delayed due to a lacerated spleen suffered in the preseason. Witten already set an NFL record this season by catching 18 passes in a loss to the New York Giants in October. It was the most catches by a tight end in league history and set a Cowboys’ record for most catches by a player at any position.

“He just goes about it the right way,” head coach Jason Garrett said of Witten, via Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning-News. “You hear me say this a lot about guys, but he’s the best example of it. He loves the game, and he works so hard at it…I think he’s had a remarkable year.”