Taylor Swift, a Grammy Award winner, has become the Kansas City Chiefs’ lucky charm as they upset the Denver Broncos 19-8 on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
Swift was in attendance to watch the Chiefs for the third match this year, and he has yet to witness a defeat for them. On the Prime Video broadcast, the singer could be seen seated in the family suite next to Travis Kelce’s mother, who has won two Super Bowls.
The Chiefs’ effort was led by tight end Kelce, who was labeled as questionable going into the game after suffering an ankle injury in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings.
The 34-year-old tight end led the NFL this season in receiving yards with nine grabs for 124 yards (100 in the first half alone).
As he played with the Broncos’ defense in the center of the field, Kelce persisted in his theme of always finding a way to get open. He repeatedly took advantage of their zone coverage.
Swift and Kelce haven’t officially addressed their acquaintance, but there is a lot of conjecture that they are dating considering that she came to see him play weeks after he said he gave her his phone number inadvertently.
“He’s kind of one of those guys you can give freedom because he knows this offense like the back of his hand,” said Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes of Kelce after the game, per the NFL.
“In zone, he can work the middle of the field. It hurts some of our deep game, but at the same time, whenever you have a guy like that, that can work in the middle of the field, it helps out a ton.”
In the evening slot, Mahomes, the current league MVP, had an outstanding stat line. He completed 30 of his 40 pass attempts for 306 yards, one touchdown to Kadarius Toney, and one pick.
Despite the numbers, the Chiefs’ victory was hardly the most elegant. Their usually explosive attack faltered in the end zone, most notably when Mahomes was intercepted by Broncos cornerback Justin Simmons at the goal line, and they were forced to settle for field goals four times. Harrison Butker, a kicker, rose to the occasion when necessary, making 4 of 4 field goals, including a 60-yard attempt.
Following the game, both Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid lauded the defense while bemoaning his team’s offensive struggles.
“Our defense was incredible tonight, as it has been,” Reid told reporters. “Offensively, we have to take care of business in the red zone. We had a lot of yards, positive yards, but you can’t stall down there.”
The Broncos had yet another bad night, dropping to 1-5 and playing poorly on all sides of the ball.
Their offense, which was headed by quarterback Russell Wilson, truly struggled, but their defense, which entered Week 6 as the worst in the league in terms of points allowed per game, has been porous all season. According to the NFL, Wilson completed 13 of 22 throws for 95 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions as Denver amassed 197 total yards to the Chiefs’ 389.
In the fourth quarter, Courtland Sutton caught a touchdown pass (which was initially called incomplete and later overturned), bringing the score to 16-8 and regaining the lead for the Broncos.
Any possibility of a comeback, though, was dashed later in the quarter when Butker made his fourth field goal.
In yet another disastrous performance, Wilson was also dismissed four times. Sean Payton, the head coach of the Denver Broncos, made an effort to find some positives from the contest but was well aware of where his team needed to advance.
“I’m not discouraged,” he said after the game. “Offensively we struggled throwing the ball. Our third-down numbers were poor.
“Against a team like this, it’s going to be tough to win the game, and yet we were still in it going into the fourth quarter. Sometimes you don’t know how a game is going to unfold.”
The Broncos have 10 days to get ready for their upcoming challenge, a Sunday game against the Green Bay Packers at home.
