DINH DOONG

Patrick Mahomes has blamed Travis Kelce’s poor start to the NFL season on rival defenses purposefully targeting the Kansas City Chiefs tight end.

The reigning Super Bowl champions extended their perfect start to the season to 3-0 on Sunday night as they beat the Atlanta Falcons 22-17.

But it was another miserable night for Kelce, whose girlfriend Taylor Swift skipped the game, as cameras caught him looking particularly miserable on the sideline in a clip which went viral.

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.

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 – and third in a row – to his collection in 2024.

Patrick Mahomes has blamed Travis Kelce’s poor start to the NFL season on rival defenses

Kelce only had four catches for 30 yards in Atlanta as he struggled yet again to make an impact

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.

Mahomes claimed afterwards that Kelce’s coverage by opponents is making it hard to get the ball to him.

The quarterback said: ‘I mean the respect factor they have for Travis is still unreal and it’s well deserved.

‘We’re calling a lot of plays for Travis and it’s like two or three people are going to him.

‘He understands. That’s the great thing about him. He wants to make an impact on the game but he wants to win at the end of the day.

‘I’m going to try and do my best to keep feeding him the ball whenever he’s there, whenever he’s open.

‘I think the more Rashee (Rice) makes plays, the more we’re able to run the football, the more we can get (Xavier) Worthy involved, I think that’s going to open up Travis more.

‘People are really emphasizing trying to take him away and it’s getting other guys open.’

Kelce’s latest off-night came after girlfriend Swift failed to make an appearance at a Chiefs game for the first time this season.

Mahomes believes Kelce’s involvement will increase as defenses focus attention elsewhere

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.