KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce gave pop superstar Taylor Swift plenty to cheer about Saturday.
With his girlfriend watching alongside WNBA star Caitlin Clark from a suite, Kelce caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown — setting a whole bunch of records in the process — and helped Kansas City roll to a 23-14 victory over the Houston Texans that earned it a spot in the AFC championship game for the seventh straight season.
“I feel like if you’re going to step out here on the football field, you’ve always got something to prove,” said Kelce, who had a pedestrian regular season by his standards but always seems to elevate his game in the postseason.
“I wish it was something like it was just a flip of the switch and I could just turn it on like that,” he added. “But I think it was everybody in that building, all week long, all, really, the past two to three weeks figuring out how to get our bodies the best rest and ready for the playoffs for a run like this. And, man, we came out firing on all cylinders today. That felt really good.”
He certainly had Swift and Clark cheering throughout the game. Clark, a longtime Chiefs fan, wore a parka in Kansas City red.
Swift arrived much earlier than usual — about two hours before kickoff on a cold, blustery day — and was dressed nearly head to toe in Chanel, including a black-and-white tweed jacket, a quarter-zip romper, a pearl strand belt and pendant earrings.
She began her high-profile romance with Kelce last season, when he invited the “Anti-Hero” singer to watch him in a September matchup with the Bears. Since then, the two have spent plenty of time together, with cameras following them all over the globe.
She has been spending more time in Kansas City lately, though, after wrapping up her record-setting Eras Tour last month.
The Chiefs had a first-round bye in the playoffs after going 15-2 in the regular season and earning the No. 1 seed. With the win over the Texans, and a matchup with the Bills or Ravens on deck next weekend, they moved one step closer to becoming the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
Swift was on hand for the most recent one in Las Vegas, of course, flying back from a concert in Tokyo to watch the Chiefs beat the 49ers last February. And there’s a good chance she’ll be following the Chiefs to New Orleans should they make it again.
“Right now, this one was great. We’re going to enjoy this one tonight,” Kelce said. “But the task at hand is going to be that AFC championship. You don’t you don’t get a three-peat by looking past that.”
Kelce had his 14th straight playoff game with at least 70 yards receiving and his 15th in a row with at least five catches, both NFL records. He also extended his own playoff record for receptions to 172, and he broke a tie with Jerry Rice for the most playoff games with at least 100 yards receiving with the ninth of his 12-year career.
Kelce might soon break two more records. He needs 226 yards to break Rice’s postseason record of 2,245, and he needs three more touchdown receptions to break the Hall of Fame wide receiver’s record of 22.
“It’s playoff Trav. He’s a leader, man,” said Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who improved to 7-0 in the divisional round of the playoffs. “This is what he lives for is playing in these moments, having the chance to make big-time plays.”
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