Has “Swift Mania” made Travis Kelce elevate his play for the Kansas City Chiefs?
The presence of the Country/Pop sensation Taylor Swift became a topic of discussion on the Wednesday edition of New Heights, featuring Kelce and his Philadelphia Eagles brother Jason Kelce.
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Is Taylor Swift Secretly Improving Travis Kelce’s Performance?
Perhaps Jason Kelce has a potential future as an analyst. He dove into the numbers and helped introduce a new NFL statistical category: The “Swift stats.”
“It turns out it’s good when she’s in attendance,” Jason Kelce said, drawing a chuckle from his brother. “When T Swift is at the game, you are averaging 99 yards, and when you are left with only your friends and remaining family there, you are at 46.5 yards a game.”
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The two-time Super Bowl-winning tight end responded with, “It’s kind of hard for me to wrap my head around that sentence.”
Even Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was heard weighing in on “Swift stats.”
That was when Jason Kelce read off a postgame quote from Reid that said, “Kelce gets better with time. Taylor can stay around all she wants.”
What was the Chiefs star’s response?
“Listen, when you’re getting ‘Big Red’s’ approval and blessings, you know you’re doing something right,” Kelce said.
Sounds like Kelce’s head coach is secretly acknowledging that the start TE has witnessed a spark to his own game — thanks to the presence of his new romantic link with Swift.
Is Kelce on Pace for Career-Best Season With Chiefs?
For starters, Kelce did thrive on what was deemed “National Tight Ends Day” in the U.S.
Kelce’s final numbers against the Los Angeles Chargers in the 31-17 romp: 12 catches, 179 yards, and one touchdown.
It marked new season-high totals for Kelce. And it came with, guess who, Swift sitting in the Arrowhead Stadium suites.
But is Kelce due for a career-best season in what’s been an already illustrious NFL career?
In six games, Kelce has caught 48 passes for 525 yards and scored four touchdowns. That means he’s averaging eight receptions per game for 65.6 yards. And Kelce has executed these marks after missing the season opener against the Detroit Lions.
Kelce has performed his best in the month of October. From Oct. 8 to the Sunday win over the Bolts, Kelce has caught 9-12 passes in his last three games.
At this pace, Kelce will have his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season.
But for receptions, the Chiefs star could be in for 128 by season’s end — which would shatter the NFL record for catches by a tight in a single season. The current record stands at 116 catches made by Zach Ertz in 2016 while with the Eagles.
Perhaps that also gets called a “Swift stat,” as it would come in a season that’s seen the Grammy winner become a frequent guest at Chiefs games.
Kelce and the Chiefs have their rematch with the Denver Broncos on the road Sunday.