PHILADELPHIA — Three days from franchise history, Eagles center Jason Kelce played a little defense Thursday.

Kelce is slated to start his 145th straight regular season game against the New York Jets Sunday at MetLife Stadium. That would top the all-time iron man streak of offensive tackle Jon Runyan, who started 144 games in a row for the Eagles from 2000-08.

“I’m not talking about it,” Kelce said of the streak. “It’s too … I’m not superstitious about much but I’m not talking about that.”

It’s an insane number of starts for any NFL player, especially an offensive lineman considering the wear and tear at the position.

Among active players, only Jake Matthews (147 starts) of the Atlanta Falcons has more consecutive starts at any position.

Kelce, who turns 36 in November, has started all 181 games he’s suited up for in 13 mostly healthy seasons to rank 10th among active players.

And he’s done so with considerable success for the Eagles are 82-61-1 (.573) in that streak. Five seasons ended in the playoffs, one with a Super Bowl title.

“He’s just tough as a shovel, just a tough dude,” Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson said. “I’ve seen him with elbow braces, knee braces. He’s been nicked-up quite a bit throughout his career. But how he takes care of his body is really why he’s played so well, so long. I think a lot of it just goes down to his demeanor. He doesn’t want to miss time or put a backup in and have that affect a team. He really takes that to heart.”

Kelce last season made his sixth Pro Bowl and earned first-team All-Pro honors for the fifth time.

Though Kelce wouldn’t address the streak, he waxed poetic about his 13 seasons with the Eagles. The Eagles are 5-0 for the second straight year and considered elite in the NFC along with the San Francisco 49ers (5-0).

Kelce got his start with head coach Andy Reid, who along with the late Howard Mudd, then the offensive line coach took him off the board in the sixth round of the 2011 draft. Kelce started that season with the celebrated Dream Team with Nnamdi Asomugha, Ronnie Brown, Vince Young, Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin, among others.

The short lived Chip Kelly era began in 2013 with the first of back to back 10-6 season, followed by Doug Pederson in 2016 and in 2021, current head coach Nick Sirianni.

“I love Chip. I love all the coaches,” Kelce said. “I’ve learned something from all of them. Started with Andy Reid and he was obviously a tremendous coach and tremendous person. Went to Chip Kelly and I think Chip, a lot of the things we did with him revolutionized a lot of the thinking in the NFL and started pushing a lot of the league into different realm of growth mindset. I know it didn’t end well here with him and some of the personnel decisions didn’t pan out. But I’d be hard pressed to say anything negative about the guy from a personal standpoint and what he did from my career.

“Then it went from him to Doug Pederson, and everybody knows that story and the success we had with him. That’s as good as we’ve had it so far. And then Nick certainly picked up where Doug left off.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” Kelce continued. “I’ve had a lot of really good head coaches, a lot of really good offensive coordinators. I’ve only had two offensive line coaches which is also rare, one being here a long time in Jeff Stoutland.”

The Eagles have been fortunate as well. Kelce has played so well and impacted the Birds so much that the past few seasons the organization has put the full court press on him to return rather than retire.

Kelce is earning $14,250 million this season, and worth every penny to his teammates and the coaching staff.

“The streak is almost incomprehensible,” Eagles offensive lineman Jack Driscoll said. “It’s such an impressive thing that he’s not only been able to play so many games in a row but play at such a high level so many games in a row. It’s a testament to his hard work and his determination. All of us can see and understand how impressive it is. You don’t see that a lot.”

While it’s not known if this season is the final chapter of Kelce’s playing career, he’s made Haverford his home, and Philly his town. Kelce and his brother Travis, the star tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs are about as loyal as a set of brothers can be.

“It feels like there’s been a constant culture to this building,” Jason Kelce said inside the locker room. “And I think the city and all the attention it puts on it also helps pump that. I think overall, we’ve had really good players, really good leaders and a really good culture in the building that has sustained through multiple regimens. For me and a lot of guys the only thing we know is the Philadelphia Eagles and it leads to a level of loyalty that is hard to have.”