Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wades in on Travis Kelce's difficult season before Christmas Day showdown

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has praised Travis Kelce ahead of their game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day.

The Chiefs can wrap up the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a win in Pittsburgh after a dominant regular season that has seen the reigning Super Bowl champions lose just once.

But, despite the team’s incredible form, it has been an underwhelming season for Kelce by his usual lofty standards.

At the same point last season, the tight end had amassed four more receptions, over 200 more yards and three more touchdowns than he does this year.

Kelce has only scored two touchdowns and hasn’t got into the end zone for six weeks. He also has 45 or less receiving yards in his last three games.

Despite that, Tomlin heaped praise on Taylor Swift’s boyfriend ahead of their mouthwatering festive showdown. 

Tomlin and the Steelers host the Kansas City Chiefs in a mouthwatering Christmas Day game

He said: ‘He is an unbelievably unselfish player, I don’t think he gets enough credit for that.

‘Big play maker certainly… but really impressed with the unselfishness of his play.’

Kelce and the Chiefs beat the Texans 27-19 on Saturday, the last Chiefs game of the regular season at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

The 35-year-old had five receptions for 30 yards but his wait goes on to set the franchise record for touchdowns with the Chiefs – he is still tied with Tony Gonzalez on 76.

After missing a few recent games due to touring commitments, Kelce’s girlfriend Taylor Swift returned to Arrowhead on Saturday to cheer Kelce and the team on.

The New Heights X account deleted an unflattering picture it had posted of Kelce on Saturday night that appeared to inadvertently show his manhood.

The social media page for the podcast he hosts alongside his older brother Jason was celebrating Kelce’s role in his team’s win.

‘Job not done… but W,’ the account said, posting a picture of Kelce with his arms outstretched and referencing that the Chiefs still have work to do to lock up their No. 1 seed for the playoffs.

Kelce has only scored two touchdowns this year and hasn’t got into the end zone for six weeks

A cropped version of the Travis Kelce tweet that the New Heights account deleted 

But the admin hadn’t looked too closely at the image of Kelce they were posting – much the surprise of the thousands of fans who follow the account.

Most of the responses told the account to delete the post due to its revealing nature – with one mischievous response saying that it gave Jason something to laugh about on the upcoming show this week. 

And fans were equally as chatty when the post disappeared, with one writing: ‘New heights deleted that post, gone but never forgotten.’

The win over the Texans took the Chiefs to 14-1 for the season but Kelce now has a short turnaround to be ready for the next game.

It remains to be seen if Swift attends the Steelers game – she has not made it to a single road game for the Chiefs this season.