Travis Kelce continued his resurgence in form with a captivating performance as the Chiefs defeated the New Orleans Saints 26-13 on Monday night, with Taylor Swift cheering him on from the stands in Kansas City.
The win moves the Chiefs to 5-0 ahead of their bye week next weekend as their dominant start continued in the hunt for what would be a historic third straight Super Bowl win.
Kelce didn’t score a touchdown, but had nine receptions for 70 yards. His first half was especially impressive as he entered the break with eight catches for 67 yards.
He even caused a stir at Arrowhead Stadium in the second quarter when he threw a lateral to Samaje Perine. His injured teammate Hollywood Brown took to X and wrote, alongside a “goat” emoji, “Travis Kelce is very good at football.”
There was a moment of panic in the second quarter, with cameras showing Kelce wincing in pain after a blow to his left shoulder, but luckily for the Chiefs he was able to continue playing.
Travis Kelce continued his resurgence in form as the Chiefs defeated the New Orleans Saints 23-16
Taylor Swift was back in the stands at Arrowhead Stadium to cheer on Kelce in the game
Kelce didn’t score a touchdown, but was especially impressive during the first half
But the tight end had a quieter third quarter, with the Saints keeping a closer eye on him. Ultimately, touchdowns from Kareem Hunt and Xavier Worthy and a pair of faithful punts from Harrison Butker saw the Super Bowl champions extend their undefeated start to the campaign.
Kareem Hunt also produced a promising performance with 102 yards and JuJu Smith-Schuster contributed with 130, including a gain of 51 yards late as the Saints began to threaten.
Any hope of a comeback for the Saints in the fourth quarter seemed to disappear when quarterback Derek Carr was forced out of the closing stages with an oblique issue.
Moments earlier, Saints tight end Foster Moreau started the fourth quarter with a touchdown that cut the Chiefs’ lead to three points. But with Carr’s departure, any hope of an upset all but disappeared.
Swift, meanwhile, was at her third Chiefs game of the season after missing the last two road games against the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers.
Kelce finished the game with nine receptions and 70 yards in another win for the Chiefs
Her presence was highly anticipated, especially since she didn’t show up at Kelce’s “Car Jam” charity event on Saturday evening, the day of his 35th birthday.
But she arrived shortly before kickoff of Monday’s game and took a seat next to her father Scott in Kelce’s VIP suite.
The Chiefs will take a break next weekend and return to action on October 20 in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in California.
Swift is in the final days of a hiatus from her record-breaking Eras Tour, which resumes Friday night with the first of three shows at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.