The Kansas City Chiefs collapsed at the worst possible time. Patrick Mahomes may have had the worst game of his career, and Andy Reid’s head-scratching decision to go for it on fourth down deep into his own territory will come back to haunt this team for years to come.
Now, sitting on a 6-7 record and with no chance to win the division, the dynasty’s golden days seem to be in the rearview mirror. If anything, making the playoffs looks like a distant hope right now.
Even so, Coach Reid is never going to go down without a fight. Following the toughest loss of the season, the future Hall of Famer gave his players a vote of confidence.
Andy Reid still believes in the Chiefs
"Our guys will be ready to go,” Reid told the media, per Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports. “You go through this and re-gather your thoughts. There's a lot of effort that goes into it. If you put everything out there and come up on the short end, you should feel that you've got to do better. We're deep into the Chargers right now as we speak. That's how it rolls."
The Chiefs lost to the Chargers in the season opener. They will most likely be down multiple starters in the offensive line as well, and Chargers’ defensive coordinator Jesser Minter might be licking his chops at the thought of keeping Patrick Mahomes running for his life on every dropback.
Even so, divisional games are a toss-up, and the Chargers haven’t swept the Chiefs in the regular season since 2013.
Andy Reid addresses drop issues
The loss to the Texans was the first time the Chiefs lost by more than one possession this season. Rashee Rice’s drop on fourth down cost them a chance to take the lead, and Travis Kelce’s final drop led to Mahomes’ third interception.
This is a game of inches, and one unlucky bounce can cost the team a game. The Chiefs have learned that the hard way this season, which is why Coach Reid also put his pass catcher on notice for all the drop issues:
"The obvious is, we've had too many drops,” Reid said, per Goldman. "You've got to take care of that. I am not sure where these came from. These are great players that have had these drops. We've got to start making those kinds of plays offensively."
The Chiefs don’t have any margin for error at this point, and even if they don’t make the playoffs, they must close out the season on a high note to prove the dynasty is not over yet.