High-profile tight end Travis Kelce underperformed against expectations Sunday in the Kansas City Chiefs' loss to the Denver Broncos — and his reported sweetheart, Taylor Swift, wasn't there to see it.
Kelce had six catches in 58 yards, which game announcers noted was down from previous weeks.
Just last week, in the Chiefs' game against the Los Angeles Rams, CBS aired a graphic that showed Kelce had some of his best moments of the 2023 season when Swift was cheering him on from the VIP box above.
CBS Sports aired a version of the same graphic during Sunday's broadcast. With Swift in attendance, Kelce was recording 108 yards. Without her, that number was 46.5.
On average, Kelce has been making 7.7 catches per game, but Sunday he had only six. More notably, he has been averaging just over 83 receiving yards per game. Sunday, he clocked in at 58 yards.
He also didn't manage to score any touchdowns against the Broncos; he has scored four this season.
Kelce's performance was definitely down, although it remains too soon to say it was intrinsically linked to Swift's attendance, as Sunday's showing wasn't abysmal.
With Swift there, the Chiefs were able to maintain an undefeated record (4-0 when Swift showed up, 2-2 when she skipped out), and Kelce had 432 receiving yards while she was there and only 151 when she wasn't.
Broncos fans, though, attributed it to Swift's absence, trolling Chiefs fans at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium by playing her music after the team's loss.
Kelce said last week he was aware that he has performed better when Swift is there.
"How can I not be?" he said on "New Heights," his podcast co-hosted with his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
Swift heads back out on The Eras Tour early next month, so Chiefs fans might be a little worried.
Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a similarly rough day, with three sacks. In eight games this season, he has been sacked only seven times.
And the Chiefs, overall, didn't have the best showing — they've been averaging just over 23 points per game but managed to score only nine against the Broncos.
When you break it down by when Swift was at their games, the Chiefs were scoring, on average, 18.25 points per game without her in the building and 28.5 when she has been cheer captain up in the stands.
With the loss, the Chiefs are 6-2 on the season and face the Miami Dolphins next Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany. The Broncos are 3-5.