She is in the stands.
Photo: Getty Images
Football season is already here — and with it, Swift-spotting season. After making her NFL debut last year, Taylor Swift returned to cheer on her boyfriend Travis Kelce as the Kansas City Chiefs opened the season against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 5. (The commentators actually acted pretty normal this time!) This was likely the first of many appearances this season, as Swift has a much lighter schedule as she winds down the Eras Tour. And as Kelce and the Chiefs look to become the league’s best again — and win three consecutive Super Bowls for the first time — they’ll need all the support they can get.
The New York post reported on Sept. 6 that Swift’s team is trying to keep her game appearances somewhat under wraps this season. But looking at Kansas City’s schedule, it’s not too hard to see which games she could be in. If you’re just watching to catch a glimpse of Swift, here’s a schedule of when she could show up — plus answers to other burning football questions.
against Cincinnati Bengals – YES
September 15, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and bleach-blonde Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow have had a minor rivalry since 2021—one of Burrow’s former teammates even nicknamed Kansas City’s stadium “Burrowhead” after Burrow beat the Chiefs three times in a row. (That would be, uh, like Billie Eilish eclipsing Taylor Swift after beating her twice for song of the year.) That’s no longer the case after Kansas City beat Cincinnati at home in the 2022 playoffs, but this matchup should still be an exciting one. Swift won’t want to miss it.
@ Atlanta Falcons — YES
September 22, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Swift loved a prime-time game last year, so expect her to travel to Atlanta for the Chiefs’ first game. Football on Sunday evening.
@ Los Angeles Chargers — YES
September 29, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Swift was a bit picky about Kansas City’s afternoon away games last year and only attended one in New England. A trip to LA shouldn’t be too hard to sell for the star, though. She loves the SoFi Stadium, where she played six Eras Tour shows last year and filmed her film – and her celebrity friends are surely I have already sent her a text message to secure a place in her box.
vs New Orleans Saints – YES
October 7, 8:15 p.m. (Prime Video)
Another prime-time game — and this time at home, so double yes. Plus, she’ll be at the Saints’ home stadium just a few weeks later when she plays three nights at the Superdome from Oct. 25-27.
@ San Francisco 49ers — NO
October 20, 4:25 p.m. (Fox)
This Super Bowl rematch in San Francisco will be one of the games of the year. But unlike last year, Swift can’t fly in from Tokyo – she has to prepare for one last show in Miami.
@ Las Vegas Raiders — NO
October 27, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
Swift watched Kelce and the Chiefs lose an ugly home game to the division rival Las Vegas Raiders last Christmas, but she won’t be there to see them avenge that loss in Vegas this year because she will be finishing her Eras Tour appearance in New Orleans.
vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers – MAYBE
November 4, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)
This is where it gets complicated. Swift will play her last show in Indianapolis (and the entire USA!) on Sunday, November 3rd, so she can fly back to Kansas City in time for Monday Night Football. But will she want to? Last year she only attended one game the day after a show and it was the damn Super Bowl. The Bucs may be good, but the stakes are not The high.
vs Denver Broncos – MAYBE
November 10, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Swift will take 11 days off before heading to Canada. If she spends those nearly two weeks in Kansas City, she’ll be there for that game against a division rival. But don’t be surprised if she leaves for Toronto early or just wants to rest up in New York. That’s just two days after the Grammy nominations are announced, and the Grammys air on CBS, so a performance would would be great marketing.
@ Buffalo Bills — MAYBE
November 17, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)
When the Chiefs play the Bills, it’s like Swift and Beyoncé going head-to-head at the Grammys. Swift may be in the middle of her Toronto performance right now, but oddly enough, she’s on a three-day break starting Nov. 17. Buffalo is only 60 miles from Toronto. And she sure had a blast in Buffalo during last season’s playoffs. Keep an eye on that game. (And there may be other stars in the making, too: namely, Bills QB Josh Allen’s girlfriend, Hailee Steinfeld.)
@ Caroline Panthers — MAYBE
November 24, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Swift is playing her final show in Toronto on November 23, which makes things tight once again—especially since the show is the next day at 1 p.m. But trust us, Taylor: You don’t need to see it.
against Las Vegas Raiders – YES
November 29, 3 p.m. (Prime Video)
Did you know there’s now football on Black Friday? The Chiefs will play the NFL’s second-ever Black Friday game, at home against the rival Raiders. As mentioned above, Swift may want to watch this game after watching Kansas City’s loss to Las Vegas last year, especially if she has Thanksgiving plans with Kelce the day before.
vs. Los Angeles Chargers – NO
December 8, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
While the Chiefs face the Chargers at home, Swift will kick off her final Eras Tour show alwaysVancouver.
@ Cleveland Browns — YES
December 15, 1 p.m. (CBS)
A trip to Cleveland for this game will be Also means a chance to visit Kelce’s hometown of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, just outside of town. Plus, she officially doesn’t have to schedule any more Eras Tour dates.
against Houston Texans – YES
December 21, 1 p.m. (NBC)
After the Texans made a surprise appearance in the playoffs last year, this looks to be one of the most exciting games on the Chiefs’ schedule. They’ll need all the help they can get in the final stretch of the season, and that includes Swift!
@ Pittsburgh Steelers — MAYBE
December 25, 1pm (Netflix)
We are sorry for the Chiefs players who second Back-to-back Christmases only work because the NFL wants to take up a bigger chunk of the television calendar. Swift attended the Christmas game against the Raiders last year, but that was at home. This game is in Pittsburgh. Yes, Swift is also from Pennsylvania, but it’s more than four hours from the Christmas tree farm to the Steelers’ stadium. She might still decide to spend the holidays supporting her boyfriend, but you can’t blame her for waiting to celebrate until he gets home.
@ Denver Broncos — NO
To be announced
If the Chiefs are as good as everyone expects this season, they’ll likely have their playoff spot locked up before the final week of the season. And if that’s the case, you won’t see many Kansas City stars like Kelce on the field or Swift in the crowd.
Will Kelce be good this year?
We’ll see. Last season was the first time he failed to reach 1,000 yards in nearly a decade, and his yards per pass catch have also dropped significantly. In other words, Kelce just hasn’t been catching as many passes as he used to. Frankly, he’s been battling knee and neck injuries all year. When the Chiefs made the playoffs, he was back to being the go-to guy, posting a career-high in passes caught in the postseason. However, some are waiting for the nearly 35-year-old tight end’s performance to fade, wondering if Kansas City will try to save his skills for the big games this year (which means you’ll see fewer plays). Maybe that’s already happening, considering he made just three catches for 34 yards in the Chiefs’ otherwise explosive game against the Ravens. However, Kansas City still seems confident in Kelce’s abilities after reworking his contract over the summer to make him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.
And what about that mustache?
Oh yeah, that. It’s an annual tradition for Kelce at the start of the season, as a sort of homage to Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s iconic mustache. “I always do the Andy Reid special, baby,” Kelce said recently at a New heights episode. This year, however, Swift did convince him to give up his usual buzz cut from the previous season.
Will Swift really spend that much time with Brittany Mahomes?
Yes, probably.
Wait a minute, is the guy who said those weird things about women still on the team?
Yes. That would be kicker Harrison Butker, who made headlines in May for expressing conservative views in a graduation speech. (Kelce — the boyfriend of a working woman — said he agrees with “pretty much none” of Butker’s views, but added that he wouldn’t judge his teammate.) Not only is Butker still in Kansas City, but he’ll be there for a while after the Chiefs gave him a new contract that makes him the NFL’s highest-paid kicker.
And what about the man who caused the car accident?
And yes. Wide receiver Rashee Rice faces eight counts for a six-car crash he caused in March while allegedly street racing with a friend. (He took “full responsibility.”) The NFL said it doesn’t plan to suspend Rice “unless there is a material change” in the car crash case — likely a verdict or settlement — so he’ll play this season until further notice. And that’s good news for the Chiefs so far, after Rice rushed for over 100 yards last week against the Ravens.
This all sounds chaotic. Is there Good News?
Remember how Kansas City players kept losing balls last year? Well, they called those amateurs (Kadarius Toney) and kicked them off the team. Kansas City has signed a number of new wide receivers that they hope will make their offense much more exciting this year. They include Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who is still recovering from a collarbone injury; Xavier Worthy, the fastest player to enter the NFL; and JuJu Smith-Schuster, who you may know from TikTok.
So will the Chiefs win the Super Bowl again?
They’re certainly trying! But while a handful of teams have won two Super Bowls in a row, no one has ever won three. The Chiefs could be in a prime position. Not only does their offense look better than last year, they still have a top-notch defense and one of the best football coaches of all time. We’ll see in January and February if they have the alchemy needed.
