Travis Kelce fought back tears on the way back to the Kansas City Chiefs locker room as he waited to be reunited with Taylor Swift after the most humiliating night of his career at the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

The devastated Chiefs tight end, 35, had misery etched across his face as Kansas City’s ‘three-peat’ dreams ended in disarray with a brutal 40-22 loss.

The 35-year-old is considering if he wants to keep playing on from here. If this is the last time Kelce is suited up for the Chiefs, it is hard to imagine a worse way for him to walk away from the game.

It could not have been further from last year’s jubilant scenes with Swift, as America’s most popular couple kissed on the field after a night of glory. This time around, as Kelce went missing on the field, Swift was booed mercilessly by a stadium packed with Eagles fans as she appeared on the jumbotron. She didn’t look impressed.

There was no immediate sign of the singer after the game ended. She had taken a seat in the stands to cheer him on for what Kelce himself had said was the biggest game of his career.

It ended in ruins, a merciless humbling for one of the great characters of the NFL who was absolutely anonymous on the night. Kelce ended with four receptions for 39 yards in New Orleans.

Travis Kelce congratulates Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts after the Super Bowl
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Travis Kelce congratulates Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts after the Super Bowl

Taylor Swift watched on from the stands on a night of misery for Kelce and his team
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Taylor Swift watched on from the stands on a night of misery for Kelce and his team

‘We couldn’t get it going offensively,’ Kelce said to reporters in the locker room. ‘We just couldn’t find that spark, couldn’t find that momentum.’

Kelce said he believed at halftime that the Chiefs could turn the game around.

‘100% believed,’ he said. ‘Never lose doubt. I think there was a lot of things going wrong.

‘Everything was not really going our way today. You don’t lose like that without everything going bad.’

For all of his undoubted love of the game, Kelce now has to ask himself if he can outrun father time. His performance level has dipped this season, of that there can be no question, even while considering that he has had to do more blocking for his offense and muck in with the harder yards.

And after a week of carefully fielding questions about his team being on the brink of history, and his future plans with Swift, there was a surprising misstep as the couple headed out for dinner on Friday night with Patrick and Brittany Mahomes.

They didn’t break any team rules but it is unprecedented to see players out and about so close to the game. It has left him exposed to criticism after a frankly awful performance – the same can be said of his quarterback, too.

Kelce is expected to clarify his future by March 12, the start of the NFL’s free agency. Reports on Saturday night said that Kelce’s future may hinge on the result of the Super Bowl.