There was some serious star power in Green Bay on Sunday afternoon.
Twelve-time Grammy award-winning artist Taylor Swift was in attendance for the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-19 road defeat against the Green Bay Packers.\
Watching on in person for the fifth time this season in support of her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, Swift sat alongside Brittany Mahomes – the wife of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes – in a suite at Lambeau Field.
It was her first appearance at a Chiefs game since October 7, when the reigning Super Bowl champions took down the Los Angeles Chargers, 31-17.
The pop superstar embarked on the South American leg of her ‘Eras Tour’ shortly after, with Kelce returning the favor and attending her concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Swift had been a good omen for the Chiefs coming into Sunday’s matchup, with the team having gone 4-0 with her in attendance and Kelce averaging 8.5 receptions and 108 receiving yards in those games.
However, there was to be no such good luck on Sunday, as the Chiefs were downed by the Packers.
Lambeau featured another celebrity power couple in the stadium on Sunday: seven time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles was in attendance to support her husband, Green Bay safety Jonathan Owens.
The gymnastics icon had previously been seen at a Packers home game this season and wished Owens luck before the game.
Owens scored his first career NFL touchdown on Thanksgiving against the Detroit Lions after recovering a fumble, with Biles barely able to contain her excitement on social media.
A Sunday night upset
Love was certainly in the air in every sense in Green Bay on Sunday.
But the biggest of all was Packers quarterback Jordan Love. The 25-year-old threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns and had zero interceptions, going 25-for-36 on passing attempts.
Love is playing his first NFL season as a full-time starting QB, having spent his first three years in the league as the backup to four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers.
He led the Packers to touchdowns on their opening two drives of the game and spearheaded the offense to score on five out of seven of the home side’s total possessions.
Love was able to go toe-to-toe with reigning MVP Mahomes, who threw 21-for-33 for 210 yards, a touchdown and an interception, as the Packers defense stepped up to frustrate Kansas City after Green Bay had cut the lead to two early in the fourth.
For his part, Kelce led the Chiefs in receiving on the night, managing four receptions for 81 yards in the game, below his average when Swift is in the crowd.
End-of-game controversy
The game’s ending was mired in refereeing controversy, however, with no less than four plays on the Chiefs’ final drive sparking debate amongst fans.
With just under a minute to go, Mahomes took off after the snap for a first down, but was hit hard as he was heading out of bounds by Owens, resulting in an unnecessary roughness penalty.
Green Bay rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine then evaded an apparently clear pass interference penalty, despite appearing to make significant contact with Chiefs wide receiver Marques Valdes-Scantling.
Valdes-Scantling was again involved as the clock stopped when he was ruled out-of-bounds after a late catch. Finally, a Mahomes Hail Mary pass went uncaught in the end zone, with the officials not agreeing with the pronounced claims of pass interference from the Chiefs.
The Packers escaped with their third win in a row and now sit at 6-6. They look forward to continuing the momentum and possibly entering the playoff pictures in a primetime matchup against the struggling New York Giants on December 11, while Kansas City, now 8-4, will take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
