Another week, another frustrating and narrow loss for the Kansas City Chiefs.
In a regular-season rematch of Super Bowl LIX, the reigning AFC champions fell to the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles by a final score of 20-17. The game, for the most part, was as close and ugly as one can guess.
It was an afternoon and early evening filled with mistakes. Those self-inflicted wounds, as they oftentimes do, wound up catching up to the Chiefs in the end. There’s plenty of blame to go around as the club drops to 0-2 on the year.
Speaking to the media after the outing, head coach Andy Reid addressed his message to players.
Andy Reid Takes Blame for Chiefs’ Week 2 Loss & Sends Message to Players
Right out of the gate, Reid shouldered any looming criticism in the aftermath of a high-stakes defeat.
“I’ll take full responsibility for that game,” Reid said. “I probably stayed too aggressive on that, and that’s my responsibility. I thought my guys played their tail off. They played hard and aggressive football. They stuck together throughout the game, and that’ll pay [off] for us down the road as we continue to grow.”
He believes if his Chiefs players merely keep chopping wood, everything else will sort itself out in due time.
“Yeah, keep playing hard,” Reid said. “I’ll take this one. You keep playing hard. Stick together and play hard.”
Whether that turns into a reality remains to be seen. It was a brutal showing for Kansas City in Week 2, seeing them hold the Eagles to just 216 net yards. The hosts actually outgained the visitors by a healthy 1.5 yards per play. That, paired with a near-equal number of plays run (57 to Philadelphia’s 58), would lead many to believe the Chiefs found a way to win.
That’s a prime example of how a partial picture doesn’t tell the entire story. It’s also a reminder that in a meeting between two perceived contenders, mishaps that occur in the process stage tend to factor into the final result.
With that in mind, Reid is making it clear that he’s to blame for those setbacks taking place.
Analyzing Culprits From Kansas City’s Loss in Super Bowl Rematch
It’s one thing to loosely reference bad judgment calls or poor execution. It’s another to single them out in greater detail. Reid did the former. With the help of advanced box score data from rbsdm.com, let’s do the latter with four specific points in Sunday’s game.
On the Chiefs‘ second offensive possession, quarterback Patrick Mahomes converted on a third-and-1 with an 8-yard scramble. A handful of plays later, the drive stalled out and kicker Harrison Butker trotted out for a 58-yard field goal attempt. That first-quarter miss, at the time, shifted Kansas City’s expected win probability from 47% to 40%.
Coming out of the locker room after halftime, the offense stagnated. Despite completing three passes in a row, the Chiefs were faced with a fourth-and-1 from their own 36-yard line. That’s an uncommon spot for Reid to go for it at, yet he did so anyway. His aggressiveness came back to bite him, as Kareem Hunt‘s run was stuffed short. The turnover on downs resulted in drop from 43% win probability to 31%.
The last two plays were damning.
In the fourth quarter, Mahomes hit tight end Travis Kelce for what would’ve been a touchdown or something very close to it. Kelce not only dropped the pass, but his bobble was intercepted by defensive back Andrew Mukuba. That made for a 29% drop in win probability (53% to 24%). On the Eagles‘ ensuing possession, wideout DeVonta Smith beat cornerback Trent McDuffie for a 28-yard catch to the 3-yard line. That brought the home team’s win probability from 22% to 12%.
As it turns out, at least statistically, Reid isn’t the only one deserving of some flack. Being the leader he is, however, he’ll always step up for it.
Andy Reid Sends Message to Chiefs Players as KC Drops to 0-2