Skip Bayless may support Josh Allen in the AFC Championship Game, but he lacks confidence in the NFL allowing the Buffalo Bills to overshadow the Taylor Swift phenomenon. After witnessing Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Houston Texans this past weekend, Bayless believes the NFL will go to great lengths to ensure both Mahomes and Swift are in New Orleans for the Super Bowl.
“Nobody wants to hear this, and I don’t care,” Bayless stated on his podcast. “I can’t say this publicly, at least I’m not supposed to.” He wasn’t addressing the workplace misconduct lawsuit against Fox Sports, which names him as a defendant for allegedly offering a former hairstylist $1.5 million for sex—an allegation Bayless has not commented on publicly. Instead, he focused on Allen’s prospects of defeating Mahomes and the Chiefs in the championship match.
Bayless claimed, “Josh Allen and the Bills are up against a 60-man juggernaut. That’s 53 Chiefs and seven referees.” He argued that a memo will ensure “Taylor Swift makes it to New Orleans for the Super Bowl.” He believes the NFL could lose millions in viewership without her, as fans tune in largely to see her fashion choices in the Superdome luxury box. “Mahomes, teetering though he might, must be propped up and protected by the referees, just as he was Saturday against the Texans.”
While Bayless may be overstating his case regarding the NFL’s alleged attempts to influence game outcomes for Swift’s presence, it’s true that Mahomes received some seemingly favorable treatment from officials during the game against Houston, particularly with contentious roughing the passer and unnecessary roughness calls that kept two drives alive for Kansas City.
“This is the Taylor Swift effect,” Bayless declared. “She is a one-woman ratings juggernaut. ‘Protect her! Prop her up! Award her boyfriend’s team with phantom penalties. Get them to New Orleans! The NFL needs the Swifties. Protect ‘em! Prop ‘em up! Make sure the Chiefs advance!’”
