Swift continues to boost NFL
Singer Taylor Swift has already given the concert and movie businesses a boost. Now the NFL is getting its own version of a Taylor bump.
NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” drew an audience of 27 million viewers, up 22 percent from a year ago, as the rumored relationship between Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce pulled in additional fans. That included 2 million more women, the network said Monday.
It’s the second weekend in a row that Swift’s presence in the luxury box of an NFL game has been credited with delivering publicity for the league.
The fan excitement has been reflected in the amount of money bet on games. Action on Kelce via DraftKings more than doubled over the weekend, and her presence doubled ticket sales on StubHub for the Chiefs’ Sunday game against the Jets.
A controversial holding call from the game was even said to be possibly influenced by Swift’s support for the Chiefs.
Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner was penalized for defensive holding on Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a thirdand-20 play late in the fourth quarter — a decision by referee Frank Steratore that negated an interception by Michael Carter II and gave the ball back to Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs worked the clock the rest of the way and held on for a 23-20 victory.
On Monday morning, the NFL had “Chiefs are 2-0 as Swifties” in its social media profiles, and some conspiracy theorists felt the superstar’s presence might have played a role in the call.
“Lmaoo maybe if I was a swiftie, the ref wouldn’t of threw the flag,” Gardner said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Last season’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year then edited the post to say: “Lmaoo maybe if I was a swiftie then ...nvm.” The post was later deleted.
The NFL also removed the reference to Swift from its social media profiles.
Seahawks come up big
Rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon scored on a 97-yard interception return late in the third quarter and the visiting Seahawks tied a team record with 11 sacks in a 24-3 victory over the struggling Giants on Monday night.
Geno Smith threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf late in the first quarter after a strip-sack by defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. set up a short drive and Kenneth Walker III scored on a 1-yard run just before halftime as the Seahawks (3-1) won their third straight.
A fourth-quarter interception by Quandre Diggs set up a field goal by Jason Myers in the fourth quarter as the Seattle improve to 6-0 at MetLife Stadium, including the franchise’s only Super Bowl win.
Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, Witherspoon, and Uchenna Nwosu each had two sacks. Wagner also had 17 tackles.
Graham Gano kicked a 55-yard field goal for the Giants (1-3), who have played one good half in four games this season and have looked nothing like the team that last year made the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Bills get Miller back
Despite a season-ending injury to starting cornerback Tre’Davious White, the Bills are preparing to welcome back edge rusher Von Miller, the NFL’s active leader in sacks.
The 34-year-old will resume practicing this week after being sidelined since tearing a right knee ligament in November. He is cleared to practice while remaining on the physically unable to perform list, which provides the Bills a three-week window for him to be activated. Buffalo plays at New England on Oct. 22.
White will require season-ending surgery to repair a torn right Achilles’ tendon, coach Sean McDermott announced Monday.
QBs are hurting
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Deshaun Watson was cleared by the team’s medical staff to play Sunday with a bruised right shoulder, but the quarterback made the decision not to play following a brief warm-up . . . Justin Herbert is not expected to miss any playing time despite having a broken middle finger on his non-throwing hand. The Chargers quarterback fractured his left hand late in the third quarter after it got caught in the helmet of Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby after being intercepted by Trevon Moehrig.
Taylor back for Colts
The Colts will activate All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor this week, and he could play Sunday against Tennessee. Coach Shane Steichen told reporters he expects Taylor (ankle) to practice starting Wednesday, and the team will evaluate whether he’s ready to start playing in games . . . Chase Claypool’s exile from the Bears will continue. Coach Matt Eberflus said Claypool won’t practice with the team this week after the wide receiver was inactive for the loss to the Broncos . . . The Raiders are donating $1 million to UNLV’s athletics program, the team announced.