The Kansas City Chiefs knew that, coming into their Week 14 game against the Houston Texans, it was all or nothing, and, unfortunately for the franchise, it was its stars who let them down in a 20-10 loss.
Dropping the Chiefs to 6-7, playoffs now look highly unlikely, and the AFC West is now officially gone.
But the thing that will stick in the paw of Chiefs Kingdom is that, as much as the Texans played well, Kansas City played a big role in its downfall on Sunday night.
And for head coach Andy Reid, one thing bugged him.
"The obvious is we've had too many drops," Reid said. "You got to take care of that, I'm not sure where these came from, we've been catching the ball pretty good until the last couple games. These are great players that have had some drops and quarterback I know would like to have a couple of those throws back, but we've got to start making those kind of plays offensively."
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Chiefs 'drop' playoff hopes vs. Texans
Dropped passes have been a big issue, particularly over the last couple of weeks, as Travis Kelce had a big drop in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys.
Then, against the Texans, Kelce and Rashee Rice both had crucial drops late in the fourth quarter, with Rice's being the one that sealed the game for Houston on a fourth down as the ball hit him in the hands.
In truth, that sums up Kansas City's season.
Just things we aren't used to seeing happen were happening regularly, and it only seems fitting that those issues were the final dagger in the Chiefs' playoff hopes.
More Chiefs news:
- Patrick Mahomes states the painfully obvious regarding Chiefs' playoff hopes
- Patrick Mahomes remains confident in Chiefs' offense despite disastrous Week 14 loss to Texans
- Travis Kelce made a tough decision after drop-turned-INT cost Chiefs game vs. Texans
- The only 2 kickers as bad this season as Chiefs' Harrison Butker have both been released