National Football League

Travis Kelce dazzled in Week 7. Is he 'showing off' for Taylor Swift?

Updated Oct. 23, 2023 5:49 p.m. ET

Travis Kelce helped the Kansas City Chiefs solidify control of the AFC West on Sunday, catching 12 passes for a whopping 179 yards and a touchdown in the team's 31-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Kelce's rumored girlfriend Taylor Swift — seen wearing a friendship bracelet with his jersey number on it — was again in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Chiefs, this time alongside quarterback Patrick Mahomes' wife, Brittany.

K.C. improved to 6-1 on the season with Sunday's win, and the Chiefs are now 4-0 with Swift in attendance. They have also averaged more points (28.5 to 21.3) and total yards (432.3 to 349.3) per game with Swift in attendance than without.

What's more, Kelce has averaged 108 receiving yards in the four games that Swift has attended compared to just 46.5 yards per game in the three that she hasn't.

"Taylor can stay around all she wants," head coach Andy Reid said with a laugh at Sunday's postgame news conference.

That said, how much does Kelce's and the Chiefs' success have to do with the 12-time Grammy Award winner's presence?

A lot, if you ask Skip Bayless.

"It looks to me like — in a very good way — that Travis is showing off for Taylor, and I don’t blame him at all because she's a big deal," he said on Monday's "Undisputed."

Some football fans speculated that the outside noise surrounding the Kelce-Swift rumored romance would be a distraction for the reigning Super Bowl champions, but it appears to have had the opposite effect. Co-host Keyshawn Johnson said this is because Kelce, one of the league's most valuable playmakers, was already a superstar before they met.

"The great thing for this team is that they're still on course … to making yet another AFC Championship Game appearance at home — that would be six in a row — and possibly another Super Bowl appearance," Johnson added. "I tip my hat off."

Kelce is on pace to have his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season, arguably cementing him as the best receiving tight end in NFL history and one of the best skill-position players of his generation.

He has 525 receiving yards on the season on 48 catches (10.9 yards per catch) and four touchdowns. Heading into Week 8, his 525 receiving yards are the 12th-most in the league among all pass-catchers but first among TEs. In fact, 18 wide receivers separate Kelce from the next closest TE, Darren Waller, who checks in at No. 31 overall (380 receiving yards).

For the Chiefs specifically, Kelce boasts 220 more receiving yards than the team's top receiver, Rashee Rice (305 total yards), despite playing one fewer game. Kelce was out with a hyperextended knee in Week 1, and had four catches for 26 yards in his return in Week 2. He has caught 48 passes for 499 yards and four touchdowns in the six games since Swift first watched Kelce play on Sept. 24.

Next up for Kansas City is a road game against Denver on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET), and fans will be keeping tabs on whether Swift will make the trip to Empower Field in what could be her last chance to see Kelce & Co. in action before she heads to South America in early November to resume the international leg of The Eras Tour and the Chiefs travel abroad to face Miami in Week 9 at Deutsche Bank Park in Germany (Nov. 5 at 9:30 a.m. ET).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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