Travis Kelce patiently deflected three questions about Taylor Swift, Patrick Mahomes spoke in glowing terms about Tyreek Hill and Andy Reid gave his answer to world peace.
Yes, the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are finally in Frankfurt ahead of Sunday’s powder keg match against the Miami Dolphins.
While Kelce and Co are almost 5,000 miles from Arrowhead, the interrogation about his relationship with the 12-time Grammy Award winning singer continued unabashed.
The first saw the tight end – who has recorded an NFL record seven straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons – asked if he felt like a better player when Swift was in the stands
‘I think it’s pretty much a coincidence. I’ve had some pretty big games in my in my career,’ Kelce said.
The second was a two-parter: What is the latest status and are you in love?
‘The latest status is I got to see her last week. That’s the latest status right there,’ Kelce said. ‘I’m gonna keep my personal relationship personal.’
Travis Kelce patiently deflected three questions about Taylor Swift on Friday in Frankfurt
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have dinner at Waverly Inn in New York on October 15
And finally: will Swift be at the game, given she will be performing in Buenos Aires on Thursday?
‘You know what… I think when I mention or everybody knows that she’s at the game the over/under on my catches kind of goes up and down,’ Kelce said. ‘The spread goes up and down. So you know I don’t want to mess with any of that stuff. So I’m just gonna keep it to myself.’
While the Dolphins have been in Germany since Tuesday, the Chiefs’ eight-hour flight was slightly delayed, with the team arriving at 9.59am.
After a light walkthrough at DFB-Campus – the state of the art HQ of the German soccer federation – bleary-eyed players faced a packed press room.
One of the stories of the game was about a player who is no longer wearing a Chiefs uniform. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill was drafted by Kansas City in 2016 but was traded to Miami last year.
Patrick Mahomes spoke favorably about former teammate Tyreek Hill, who is now a Dolphin
On Thursday, Hill gave his former team-mates something to think about on the flight over.
‘It doesn’t really matter where we play at. They gon’ get this work wherever. Y’all rather get that bulletin board material,’ he said.
In response, Kelce said drily: ‘Tyreek is a funny guy, man. He’s a fun guy. He likes to you know, say his piece. He’s always been like that even just playing basketball in the locker room in Kansas City, you know, and I’ve seen him lose a lot of those games. I’ll leave it at that.
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill previously won a title with Kansas City
‘He’s going to get a team that’s ready to fight and go all four quarters. If it has to go to OT, it has to go. I know we’re ready and we’re prepared and it’s going to be a heck of a game for anyone who’s watching in Germany.’
Poster boy Mahomes spoke of partnerships and a desire to return to Germany in the offseason. But he was less confrontational about facing Hill.
‘It’s gonna be cool. And that’s my brother. I mean, with all everything else going on, we built a great relationship over the years when was in Kansas City. We still talk every once in a while.’
Hill leads the league with 1,014 receiving yards and is on pace to become the first receiver to top 2,000 receiving yards in a season.
‘He’s had a tremendous last few seasons, and it will be a great challenge for our defense,’ Mahomes added.
What the Chiefs would give for that kind of production. Their wideouts are 18th in the league in catches (94) and 14th in yards (1,185).
Kansas City did not score a touchdown for only the third time with Mahomes at quarterback during Sunday’s dreadful defeat by Denver, with key drops costing the team.
But Mahomes was unequivocal about the issue.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid attends a press conference in Frankfurt
‘I think almost that drops just kind of happen. If you continue to work at it, you can kind of eliminate it and I’ve seen the guys continue to work and work throughout the season. They know I’m gonna keep firing the football to them,’ he said.
‘Obviously we don’t want drops. But at the same time, when they happen, you got to make sure you fix that mistake. And when it comes back to you the next time, you don’t drop it again.’
Reid added: ‘Yeah, we’ve got to be more consistent, catching the football. That ends up being a thing that we work on. And so we’ll continue to do that. We’ve had a couple of young players in there that are they’re working their tail off to get better every day and that’s where the focus is.’
Now on his third international trip – the Chiefs won in both London in 2015 and Mexico City in 2019 – Reid feels he has a winning formula.
Kelce attends a practice session in Frankfurt, Germany on Friday ahead of Sunday’s game
And his players agree, with Kelce adding: ‘There’s been a lot of talk about the rest and getting out here and a lot of talk about us coming out here later and maybe not having that time to acclimate.
‘I’ll be the one to say that we got a team that were ready, they were ready to roll anytime, anywhere in the parking lot, nice grass. It’s all mental for us and we’re ready to rock.
Asked about the NFL’s international program, he said: ‘I’m passionate about football. And so to see it be potentially worldwide – that’s a great thing. It’s an enjoyable game. It’s fun, it’s exciting.
‘Little bit of that angriness that comes out in guys and they go out and play and hit each other. Sometimes good. I’ve always said if we can figure out how to get all the countries to play, we wouldn’t have wars – we’d just go out and play football.’