Travis Kelce’s performance without Taylor Swift present sparks questions

As the Kansas City Chiefs prepared for their game against the Miami Dolphins in Germany, tight end Travis Kelce spoke to the media at length on Friday, fielding questions about football, his New Heights podcast (he would love to bring it to Germany, but only if his teammates come with) and, of course, whether or not he is “in love” with Taylor Swift.

One question, however, seemed pertinent postgame, even in light of the Chiefs’ grinding 21-14 victory: Is there something to the idea that Kelce performs better with Swift at the games?

Kelce, of course, says no.

“I think it’s pretty much a coincidence,” Kelce said Friday. “I’ve had some pretty big games in my career. So yeah, I think it’s a bit of a coincidence for sure.”

Kelce had a quiet game Sunday with three catches for 14 yards, his lowest total since 2018. He was targeted just four times by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and he went without a touchdown for the second game in a row and third in the past four.

While Sunday’s game may have been the most stark, it was hardly the first time this season that Kelce posted lackluster numbers without Swift in attendance. Last week, Kelce finished with just six receptions and 58 yards and the Swift-less Chiefs suffered their first loss to the Broncos since 2015. Three weeks prior, Swift skipped the Chiefs game in Minnesota, and while Kelce recorded 10 receptions in a win, they resulted in just 67 yards.

Sandwiched between the loss to the Broncos and the victory over the Vikings, Swift attended consecutive games at Arrowhead Stadium. Kelce recorded more than 100 receiving yards in each, including a season-high 179 in a 31-17 victory over the Chargers.

In eight games this season, Kelce has averaged 108 yards with Swift in attendance. When she is elsewhere, he has averaged 41.3 yards.

Kelce’s struggles without Swift are quickly becoming something of a meme.

The Chiefs haven’t done Kelce any favors with the meme-smiths. Mahomes told reporters after their Week 3 win over the Bears that when he heard Swift was in the house, he “felt a little bit of pressure” to get the ball to Kelce for a touchdown.

“I think he wanted to get in the end zone just as much as all the Swifties wanted him to,” Mahomes joked postgame.

Still, the Chiefs sound as unconcerned as Kelce. Head coach Andy Reid brought up how the Dolphins defended Kelce postgame.

“I didn’t get him the ball enough,” Reid said. “This guy is a great player. He gets better and better. They were aware of him and allowed other guys to make some plays with some of the schemes they were using. But what a great player, and a good kid on top of that. Great leader.”

Meanwhile, in a reminder that Kelce has been doing this for a long time, he passed Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez as the Chiefs’ all-time leader in receiving yards with his final catch, which pushed him to 10,941.

“We always try to get him involved, and we try to do it quickly….There wasn’t a lot of space there for him, breaking in or out,” Reid said. “But he does a lot of the support things very well, and he always has a great attitude about it. First thing he said to me, I said, ‘Ah God, I got to get you the ball a little bit more.’ He goes, ‘Hey, the offensive line played great.’ We were running the ball well. I appreciate that attitude.”

After the game, NBC Sports’ Peter King said he overheard Kelce saying he believes this Chiefs team is “probably the most complete team we’ve ever had.” Mahomes, meanwhile, promised King twice that the reigning Super Bowl champions are going to “figure out this offense.” Given their history, Mahomes’ confidence is believable.

Still, Kelce is going to be on the receiving end of plenty of jokes in the interim. That’s an occupational hazard he faces for being Swift’s boyfriend.