KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Had just one of the missed opportunities gone the Chiefs’ way Sunday against the Eagles, the outcome may well have been different.
Instead, the Chiefs shot themselves in the foot, gambled and lost 20-17 at Arrowhead Stadium in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl.
“I’ll take full responsibility for that game,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose team fell to 0-2 to start the season. “I probably stayed too aggressive on that. That’s my responsibility. I thought my guys played their tails off and played hard, aggressive football and they stuck together throughout the game. And that’ll pay off for us down the road as we continue to grow.”
Early in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs faced a fourth-and-one when they could have opted to kick a game-tying field goal. Reid gambled and went four it on fourth down and succeeded as Karreem Hunt barreled through and picked up four yards, giving the Chiefs first and goal at the 10.
But on the very next play, Mahomes threw a pass for Travis Kelce on a slant at the goal line, and the ball bounced off Kelce’s hands and was intercepted by Andrew Mukuba, who returned it 41 yards. The Eagles eventually scored on a Jalen Hurts plunge to take a 20-10 lead.
The Chiefs then went three and out, but the defense forced the Eagles to punt. Mahomes gave the Chiefs life when he connected with Tyquan Thornton on a 49-yard touchdown pass. Three plays earlier, Mahomes just missed Thornton on what would’ve been an easy 60-yard touchdown. That cost the Chiefs about a minute on the clock, but it may not have mattered as the Eagles recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
“When you have adversity it’s about how you deal with it,” said Mahomes, who was 16 of 29 for 187 yards passing while adding seven carries for 66 yards and touchdown on the ground. “Obviously, this isn’t how we wanted to start. But how are we going to respond? So I’m excited for the next few weeks to see who wants to be challenged and how we can get back and get after it.”
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker missed a 58-yard field goal in the first quarter, and on the Chiefs’ opening drive of the second half, the Chiefs went for it on fourth-and-inches from their own 36-yard line, but Hunt was stuffed in the backfield. The Eagles eventually kicked a field goal and took a 13-10 lead.
The Chiefs, though, answered and were right on the doorstop of taking the lead when the ball bounced off Kelce’s hand and ended up in the hands of an Eagles defender.
“I think it’s important against that crew that you stay aggressive there,” Reid said of going for a touchdown and not a field goal. “I probably could dial up some different things there, but I think against them you’ve got to do that. And I thought the plays that we called were available, but we didn’t get it done.”
