Chiefs Week One: A Comedy of Errors

David Bell

In the first half, the Chiefs trailed 0-7 early, tied the game, and then went up 14-7. From that point, the team managed two FGs made by Harrison Butker and lost the game by one point. The difference in score? Failing to capitalize on two drives and settling for 3 points. Further, what stands out is the multiple dropped passes by four different receivers (0:06).

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One of those was a pass to Kadarius Toney that was on target and should have been caught. The pass deflected off his hands and turned into a Pick-Six, which was the TD and XP that gave the Lions the margin needed to win the game.

In the first half, Laddie and I exchanged messages, with me saying the Chiefs should win the game and Laddie commented that the Chiefs looked poised to come away with a win vs. the Lions.

However, it was not to be.

Watching the Game and a Bummer of a Result

I had driven from Rockport, TX to Houston the watch the game with my son, Ian. As the errors continued to pile up, a few expletives were exchanged between Ian and myself. As the game wound down and then was added to the Record Book as a loss, I reflected on my disgust with the end result. Drive after Drive, KC stopped itself — not the Lion’s defense.

I think as well, that the Play-Calling by Andy Reid went complicated at the wrong time such as 3rd or 4th down and short yardage, instead of running straight up with the Chiefs IOL for 2 yards. At least that is how I characterized it as the game wore on. At the end of the game on 3rd and very long and then 4th and forever, Andy Reid opted to go for it and KC failed both times. Ian remarked to me: “What the h-e-double hockey sticks was Andy thinking?”

I’d guess that he thought the Lions would be able to run the clock out since the Chiefs had only two Timeouts remaining, preferring to put the ball in the hands of the Chief’s miracle worker, QB Patrick Mahomes. No miracle was forthcoming. It didn’t work out for Reid and Mahomes, unfortunately.

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NFL 2023 Opener: Downside for KC?

Missing DT Charles Omenihu (a 6-game suspension) did not cause this loss. TE Travis Kelce’s hyper-extended knee and absence did not cause the loss. L’Jarius Sneed’s absence did not cause the loss. Chris Jones’s holdout did not cause the loss. LB Nick Bolton wasn’t willing to cast blame on the offense, even though he could have:

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Even the play calling or lack of trust in the OL didn’t cause this loss. Time after time the Chief’s offense shot itself in the foot. Time and again, sort of like the Indianapolis loss in 2022, the outcome became a foregone conclusion.

Clearly, I thought in the first half that the Chiefs should win the game. Then they failed, dismally.

Patrick Mahomes was 5-0 in the opening games of each season. He is now 5-1. Andy Reid, who was 9-1 in home openers, is now is 9-2. Bummer! Before the game, I had decided that the right bet to make was to put money on the Chiefs nose and take the under. I was half right, eh?

WR Justin Watson commented about the game result, saying that the Lion’s defense didn’t stop the Chiefs and I would agree. In an article by Craig Stout of KCSN, he wrote:

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“This wide receiver group is young, and they have some growing to do – of that, we all realized. There are also “bad nights” for players, particularly ones that haven’t practiced much with the team in the offseason. However, the alarming element is just how poor the group as a whole performed on opening night. They’ll need a major turnaround from their Week 1 performance if this offense is going to live up to the heights that it has in previous seasons.”

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The Chiefs stopped themselves… and of course, I agree completely with that simple assessment.

I could go through each of the four WRs who had 8 dropped passes, detailing each of their faux pas, but… what’s the point? If you watched this game, you know the Chiefs beat themselves, not the Detroit Lions. What more could really add to stating what caused the loss? We all know and that is all that needs to be said. WR Justin Watson remarked:

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“Anytime the defense doesn’t have

to stop you,

you stop yourself.”

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David Bell — ArrowheadOne

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