Travis Kelce was a shadow of his former self once again for the Kansas City Chiefs after Taylor Swift skipped her first NFL game of the season on Sunday night.
And as he struggled to make an impact in their 22-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, the Chiefs tight end cut a miserable figure on the sidelines in a clip which has gone viral on social media.
A fed-up Kelce, who only had four catches for 30 yards in Atlanta, could be seen rubbing his right eye before staring into space despondently as he sat on the bench at the end of the first half.
Fans were quick to notice his dejected body language, with one writing on X: ‘This man looks TIRED’.
Another posted after Taylor’s no-show: ‘He’s been Swifted.’
free travis kelce man pic.twitter.com/HTDNthIvdz
— mikaela (@tayviswarrior) September 23, 2024
A third put: ‘Travis Kelce looks absolutely DONE.’
One even went as far to conclude: ‘This is his last season, whether they 3peat or not. Don’t think he gives a s**t about football anymore.’
It has been an unusually sluggish start to the season for the 34-year-old as he looks to add a fourth Super Bowl ring to his collection in 2024.
His return against the Falcons means he now has just 69 yards across three games, although he did manage to double his reception tally to eight.
Kelce’s latest off-night came after Swift failed to make an appearance at a Chiefs game for the very first time this season.
The pop megastar was nowhere to be seen in Atlanta despite her free schedule as she enjoys a break from her international Eras Tour.
On Saturday Swift was spotted on a lowkey night out with BFF Gigi Hadid in New York City, where she rocked a plaid miniskirt as they grabbed a bite to eat at The Corner Store restaurant in SoHo.
But despite many expecting her to appear in Atlanta, she instead turned down the chance to follow Kelce and Kansas City on the road.
Swift attended the Chiefs’ opening two games of the 2024 campaign, both of which were played in Kansas City.
She also racked up thousands of air miles following the team last season, even jetting over 5,000 miles from Tokyo to Las Vegas to make it to the Super Bowl in February.
Swift was not at the Falcons game despite Kansas City making a clever reference about her in a post on X before the game.
Alongside a photo of Kelce arriving at the stadium, the Chiefs captioned the post: ‘Happiness. Fun. Magic.’
That caption was a reference to Swift’s famous VMA Awards speech earlier this month, in which she lauded her man for the ‘fun’ and ‘magic’ he gives her.
Her legion of fans loved the reference and took to the replies to share their approval.
‘Whoever the admin is I LOVE YOU,’ one said.
‘That caption is perfect,’ said another.
‘I see what you did there,’ a third fan added.
After Swift’s no-show became apparent, the Chiefs survived their first road test of the season on Sunday night as they beat the Falcons 22-17.
Patrick Mahomes made it his third straight game with an interception to open the season, but Rashee Rice’s 110 receiving yards and a touchdown propelled his team to a 3-0 start.
The Falcons got the ball back with 2:26 remaining in the game but couldn’t find a go-ahead score in front of their home fans.
