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Taylor Swift was noticeably absent from the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, but she’s still being blamed for her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s much-criticized performance this season.

Chiefs fans — and, it seems, Kelce himself — were frustrated during the Chiefs’ game against the Falcons on Sunday, September 22, with Sports Illustrated called the game Kelce’s “third straight disappointing week.” The 34-year-old tight end, who has yet to score a touchdown this season, was rarely targeted during the game — and as a result, caught just four passes for 30 yards. In a viral clip from Sunday, Kelce appeared emotional while standing on the sideline, wiping his face with a dejected look. (The moment quickly turned into a meme dubbed “Sad Travis Kelce.”)

Though the Chiefs still defeated the Falcons, 22-17 — and have won all three games of the season so far — Kelce’s performance this year has been criticized as everything from a “slow start” to “one of the worst starts of his career.” As a result, some NFL commentators — and a lot of football fans — are questioning Kelce’s on-field behavior, with many wondering if his high-profile romance with Swift has something to do with it.

Thousands of NFL fans took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to voice their opinions on whether Swift, or the time Kelce spends with her, is to blame for Kelce’s performance this season.

“TayTay’s destruction of Kelce has begun,” one wrote.

“I hate that Taylor Swift ruined Travis Kelce’s NFL career,” another commented. “He’s too distracted.”

“Travis Kelce is either really old or REALLY DISTRACTED! YOUR FANS ARE STARTING TO GET PISSED! MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE SINGLE TO PLAY BETTER! This shit is getting old,” was the opinion of a third person, who tagged Kelce, Swift, and the NFL in the tweet.

However, Swifties did not simply accept the criticism.

“Let me remind you Taylor Swift totally distracted Travis Kelce to a Super Bowl win last year,” one fan commented. “Keep her name out of your mouth. We’re 3-0.”

“The ‘Travis is distracted’ talk is so f***ing misogynistic,” shared another fan. “He’s been so open over and over again, he can’t throw himself the ball. Let’s stop pretending he can’t handle it because he works harder than anyone and everyone at the Chiefs will tell you that and HAS done it.”

Others thought people simply hated Swift himself.

“I think the biggest problem for us is the pundits claiming he’s distracted – which is a straight up misogynistic dig at Taylor and couldn’t be further from how he’s handling everything,” another user opined. “No one is saying (Buffalo Bills quarterback) Josh Allen’s issues are because of (girlfriend) Hailee (Steinfeld).”

“No one is saying (Chiefs quarterback) Pat (Mahomes) is distracted when he has two kids and another one on the way with a woman who has also been in the news lately 🤪,” an X user agreed. “Feels like a story with the talkers they like to use 24/7.”

As for Mahomes’ thoughts on Kelce’s season so far, he thinks other teams “respect” him so much that their defenses get in his way. “We call a lot of plays for Travis, and it’s like two or three people go to him,” the QB shared after the game, noting that Kelce “gets it.”

“I think that’s the beauty of him: He wants to make an impact in the game, but at the end of the day, he wants to win,” Mahomes added. “I’m going to do my best to keep getting him the ball when he’s out there, when he’s open.”