Following their loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas day, there have been rumblings on social media that the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce romance coverage is starting to become a distraction to the Kansas City Chiefs. After the 20-14 defeat to a sub .500 team, the Chiefs have lost three of their last four games overall, and have a three-game losing streak at Arrowhead Stadium.
In the world of sports, there’s always a hot take to be had, and the latest one is that pop sensation Taylor Swift is a “distraction” to the Kansas City Chiefs. The debate has been swirling around the Chiefs’ recent performance, with some pundits pointing fingers at Swift’s relationship with tight end Travis Kelce.
But is there anything to it?
The Chiefs’ offense has surely been sputtering of late, held under 20 points in three of their last four contests. As for Kelce, he’s only had one touchdown and has failed to go over 100 yards receiving since he went ballistic against the Los Angeles Charges on October 22nd. Kelce in that game had 179 yards receiving and a touchdown.
The fact remains, however, that he and Taylor Swift had gone public with their dating status in late September. If she wasn’t a distraction back then, why should she be the source of his and the team’s woes now?
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Is Taylor Swift A Distraction, Or Are The Chiefs Just Coming Back Down To Earth?
Sports commentator Skip Bayless recently contributed to the debate that Taylor Swift and the whirlwind of hype surrounding her relationship with Kelce might be distracting the Chiefs on the field.
“Feels like it’s about time to call Taylor Swift a distraction,” he wrote in an X social media post. “What do you think, Patrick? Andy? How about you, Travis?”
Is it possible the media hype has accelerated in recent weeks causing the distraction? It certainly didn’t seem to be a problem when the couple first announced publicly that they were dating.
In fact, during her first appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game on September 24th, the Chiefs squashed the Chicago Bears, 41-10. They then reeled off four more straight wins before losing to the Denver Broncos 24-9 on October 29th.
That means for more nearly a month they went undefeated in the new Swift era.
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The Chiefs Have Bigger Problems
Look, it’s easy to point the finger of blame at Taylor Swift. Especially when you’re trying to watch a football game and the NFL makes sure to show every reaction she has to every play.
So much so that the media began hiring forensic lip readers – no, we didn’t make up that job title – to try and figure out what she was saying during heated moments in the Chiefs games.
It’s also easy to cast a leery eye at Swift after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes recently gushed over and over again about how “cool” she is, then promptly laid an egg on Christmas Day (235 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 73.6 QBR).
“She’s part of Chiefs Kingdom now, she’s part of the team,” Mahomes said of Taylor Swift.
In their last eight games, the Kansas City Chiefs have a record of 3-5, which is a significant decline from their earlier season performance. They started the season 6-1.
Their rushing game though, has been inconsistent, with only two games over 100 rushing yards during this rough stretch. Mahomes actually led the rushing attack against the Raiders with 53 yards on the ground.
Additionally, they have had 15 giveaways and only five takeaways, which has put their defense under pressure.
Mahomes has had on-filed temper tantrums on multiple occasions in recent weeks, meaning the offensive struggles are starting to get to him. In their last four games, his numbers have been pedestrian – 5 TDs and 5 INTs.
The Kansas City Chiefs are currently facing a variety of issues, including offensive struggles, inconsistent wide receiver performance, poor quarterback play, and potential internal issues. These factors have contributed to their recent decline in performance.
How much Taylor Swift being a “distraction” is playing into their problems is up for debate.
