The cracks are starting to show within Chiefs Kingdom as the franchise fights for its playoff life.
Following the Chiefs’ 22-19 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, November 16, which dropped them to 5-5 on the season, head coach Andy Reid was asked about imbalance in his offense after Kansas City only ran the ball 14 times against the Broncos.
“We’re calling quite a few of the [run-pass options],” Reid, 67, told reporters on Monday, November 17. “Yesterday, they were giving us opportunities to throw the football. So we utilized the opportunities there.”
Reid continued, “The runs are being called. Sometimes they get turned into passes in today’s world. That’s how it goes.”
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Essentially, Reid explained that the Chiefs have given Mahomes, 30, the choice to either run or pass with some of their play calling. In Sunday’s loss to the Broncos, Mahomes decided to pass more often than not.
Mahomes finished the game 29-for-45 passing with one touchdown and one interception.
After the game on Sunday, Mahomes admitted that it wasn’t his best performance from the jump, as evidenced by a bad overthrow of wide receiver Xavier Worthy on a deep ball in the first quarter.
“I’ve just got to make the throw,” Mahomes said on Sunday. “There’s no other way around it. The play was designed for Travis [Kelce] — and I think Travis is wide open — but you have these alerts in your plays and how [Broncos safety Brandon Jones] was sitting with Xavier’s speed, I knew he was going to have a chance down the field. I’ve just got to give him a chance. I miss that one.”
Mahomes added, “I think we’re really talented and we’ve got a lot of great players, but it’s about being more consistent. I think it starts with me. There’s times where I’m firing and we’re moving the ball down the field at ease. But there’s times where we go in spurts where I miss a throw or a [pass] protection call.”
The loss to the Broncos dropped the Chiefs three games behind AFC West-leading Denver in the loss column and they currently sit outside the AFC playoff picture. After this weekend’s slate of games, ESPN gave Kansas City a 44.6 percent chance of missing the postseason.
Kelce, 36, who set the Chiefs all-time touchdown receptions record in the Broncos defeat, refused to speak to the media after the game.
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As tensions begin to bubble over, however, Reid isn’t hitting the panic button.
“We’re not quite as negative as the outside world is here,” he said on Monday. “We know what we need to clean up. And we need to do it. But the guys — they get it. I mean, some of these guys have been through some pretty good seasons. And this isn’t like this one’s lost.”
He added, “We’ve just got to clean up a few of these things. And the urgency level — obviously we need to make sure we take care of that now.”
The Chiefs face another stiff test on Sunday, November 23, when the AFC South-leading Indianapolis Colts (8-2) come to town.
