Merril Hoge dismisses Taylor Swift narrative amid Chiefs struggles
Former NFL player Merril Hoge talks about the Kansas City Chiefs struggles with OutKick's Dan Dakich.
The Kansas City Chiefs have lost five of their last eight games, and if it were not for a putrid division, they would be in danger of missing the playoffs.
It is still a matter of when they will clinch, rather than if, but their Super Bowl expectations are dwindling rapidly.
Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 300 yards just once in those last eight games, throwing just 11 touchdowns in that span versus eight interceptions.
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Taylor Swift, left, and Brittany Mahomes are jubilant during the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
As for Travis Kelce, after racking up 303 receiving yards in weeks 6 and 7 combined, he has just 443 yards since then, with five games under 60 – he has just one touchdown in that span, as well.
It is clear that Mahomes does not have much receiving help outside of Kelce, as the Chiefs lead the NFL in dropped passes. However, Kelce would tell you he is not playing up to his own expectations following career highs in every category last year.
Naturally, many have been quick to say that superstardom has gotten to Kelce's head since he began dating Taylor Swift. Kelce was a star beforehand, but his relationship has put him on another level globally.
Travis Kelce, of the Kansas City Chiefs, looks on before the game against the Packers at Lambeau Field on Dec. 3, 2023, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
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But one former NFL running back says that is all garbage.
"It's irrelevant. That's a media twist. That's actually just to tell you how weak and stupid media is and people are," Merril Hoge told OutKick's Dan Dakich.
Hoge said Swift, or Kelce's relationship with her, does not have any influence on the Chiefs one bit.
"It has nothing to do with the locker room. They've never been in the locker room, they clearly don't understand the National Football League, the dynamics of winning on Sundays – when you win, when you lose, the struggles that exist. Somebody who sings songs has zero to do with it."
Hoge even flipped the script, hypothetically.
"Her greatness and brilliance, that'd be like her not having a successful album and saying 'Travis Kelce is because she didn't have a successful album,'" he said. "It has nothing to do with it. She has nothing to do with where they are right now."
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift arrive at a "Saturday Night Live" after-party in New York City on Oct. 15, 2023. (Gotham/GC Images)
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Kelce and Swift have been romantically linked since September. There had been a time when gamblers and fantasy footballers took note that Kelce had actually performed better with Swift in attendance earlier this season, but that narrative has since died down.
The Chiefs fell to 9-6 when they were upset by the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday.
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