Travis Kelce has said he is “not worried about the catches and yards” after his poor start to the NFL season continued in the absence of partner Taylor Swift on Sunday.

Pop star Swift, who is credited by some as being a lucky charm for Kelce, missed her first game of the campaign as his Kansas City Chiefs team beat the Atlanta Falcons.

The 34-year-old was shown appearing to look dejected on the bench and has a relatively dismal eight catches for 69 yards from his first three games for the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Travis Kelce looks absolutely DONE. #KCvsATL pic.twitter.com/0WgERJNNwE

— The Sammooo! Show (@TheSammoooShow5) September 23, 2024

Kelce: Mahomes ‘doing great’

“Whatever it is, it’s football, baby,’ Kelce told his New Heights podcast, praising Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “I’m not getting caught up in getting the targets and all that.

“I just want to have a successful offense and I think Pat is doing a great job of finding the open guy and making the right decisions right now… it’s a new offense, new players, new pieces and we’re just finding how to have success throughout the season.

“As an offense, you’re going to go through these ups and downs throughout the season and you just want to make sure that you clean up all the mistakes [and] you’re making sure that you’re communicating so that everybody understands exactly where we’re going moving forward. Nobody does it better than coach [Andy] Reid and Pat Mahomes, in that regard.”

Taylor Swift tour: Kelce criticised

Kelce’s critics have suggested Swift could have a distracting effect on his football after he appeared on stage with her during one show while following the chart-topper on her Eras Tour.

Speaking on The Ryen Russillo Podcast earlier this week, former ESPN analyst Todd McShay accused Kelce of “partying all off-season” and “jet-setting around with the most famous person, probably, in the entire world”.

🚨| TRAVIS KELCE’S FULL SURPRISE APPEARANCE FOR “I CAN DO IT WITH A BROKEN HEART” AT TODAY’S SHOW! #LONDONTSTHEERASTOUR

pic.twitter.com/NxWKlOes4g

— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) June 23, 2024

“I’ve had a lot of catches in this league, man,” said Kelce. “I’m not worried about the catches and the yards and all of that. I have the most fun when I get the ball thrown my way – I mean, who doesn’t?

“It has everything to do with execution and just making sure we’re doing everything we can to win these football games. That’s always going to be the goal.

“I think everyone saw my drop in the fourth quarter [against Atlanta] and the crucial third down, just trying to do too much before putting the ball away.”

Kelce ‘tweaking’ game

“Probably the biggest thing for me is making the play in big-time moments like that,” added Kelce. “With how defenses are playing us right now, I’m not really getting a lot of opportunities to make plays down the field. But I’m not using that as an excuse.

“I’m still trying to make sure I can help the team out in that regard, knowing I’ve been that weapon for us in the past. Moving forward, everyone’s just tweaking their game in the right direction.”

The Chiefs visit the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL on Sunday (4.25pm ET).