Taylor Swift was not present to witness her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s historic performance during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day but she still showed her support for his record-breaking achievement.
With less than 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter, quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a 12-yard pass to an unguarded Kelce in the endzone, marking the tight end’s 77th touchdown catch – surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez’s record for the most in Chiefs franchise history.
After the Chiefs’ decisive 29-10 win, Kelce ended the day with eight catches from 11 targets for 84 yards, bringing his season total to 97 receptions. According to OptaStats, he is the first player in NFL history to have seven consecutive seasons with at least 90 catches.
Following the game, Swift took to social media to subtly congratulate Kelce on his impressive performance.
Despite not travelling to Acrisure Stadium – unsurprising given she has only attended Chiefs home games during the 2024-25 campaign – Swift ‘liked’ three separate posts from the Chiefs, NFL and ‘New Heights’ social media teams that all celebrated Kelce’s touchdown achievement.
Following his record-breaking performance, Kelce spoke to Netflix’s Stacey Dales, saying: “It’s everything to me. Tony’s been a mentor to me, he’s been there right there for me [with] any questions I’ve ever had.
“I feel like I’m still trying to fill that guy’s shoes. He’s such an unbelievable competitor and I’ve got so much love for him. It’s an honour to be in conversations with him.”
Travis Kelce made history during Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers (Image: Getty Images)
Mahomes also praised Kelce, stating: “I was extremely excited, I’ve been trying to get him a touchdown for the last few weeks and I wanted to do it at Arrowhead [Stadium]. He’s done so much for this organization, on and off the field. For him to have the career that he’s had is special.
“I know at the end of the day he wants to win the ring more than anything, but it’s awesome that he can have that accomplishment.”
The result of Wednesday’s game was a welcome one for Kelce and the Chiefs, who were upset 20-14 by the Las Vegas Raiders last Christmas Day. Swift attended that game at Arrowhead Stadium with her parents, Scott and Andrea Swift, and her brother, Austin Swift.
Despite the defeat being hard for Kelce to take, his Christmas was quickly improved when Austin dressed up as Santa to distribute gifts at home.
Kelce expressed immense appreciation for Austin Swift’s dedication to gift-giving on the ‘New Heights’ podcast last December, saying: “It was a full commit. He killed it.
“He actually made me feel like a child because his gift to me was straight out of the bag. [He] handed me a VHS of my favourite football movie of all time … Little Giants.
“It ended well with good Christmas cheer and great people. That’s always going to save Christmas no matter if you lose to the Raiders or not.”
