The Kansas City Chiefs lost 20-17 to the Philadelphia Eagles, marking their third consecutive loss including last season’s Super Bowl.
For the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, the Chiefs have lost three straight games and started the season 0-2.
Key moments included a costly interception thrown by Mahomes in the red zone and a failed fourth-down gamble by coach Andy Reid.
KANSAS CITY, MO – This is what a Super Bowl Hangover looks like.
Missed opportunities. A costly turnover. A risky fourth-down gamble that backfired. Burned by a blitz in crunch time. A missed field goal.
New territory in the Patrick Mahomes Era.
No, the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t get blown out again in the Super Bowl 59 rematch on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. This time, it was a would’ve, could’ve, should’ve type of outcome in falling 20-17 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
And suddenly the Chiefs are attached to a different kind of three-peat. For the first time since Mahomes began setting the NFL ablaze, the Chiefs have lost three consecutive games with the star quarterback, dating back to the Super Bowl loss.
Let the record show, too, that the Chiefs are 0-2 for the first time since 2014, and just the second time under Andy Reid. And while it’s early, it’s also worth noting that the staggering Chiefs – winners of nine consecutive division titles – are all alone in last place in the AFC West.
“Obviously, this isn’t how we wanted to start and how we’re going to respond,” Mahomes said afterward.
He knows. Kansas City had so many chances to swing the outcome and blew it.
You’d think your chances of toppling the champs would be decent by holding reigning NFL rushing champ Saquon Barkley under 100 yards (88, on 22 carries) and allowing Jalen Hurts to pass for a grand total of 101 yards. Done and done. The Chiefs defense held the Eagles to 216 yards but that still wasn’t good enough.
Leave it to the resilient Eagles (2-0) to reveal the holes. Take the vaunted “Tush Push” short-yardage package. Philadelphia called on it seven times, including the case when they drew a penalty for a conversion. The Chiefs stopped the Eagles twice, but in both cases they were unable to stop back-to-back “Tush Push” encounters, including the fourth-quarter case that Hurts barreled in for a one-yard touchdown.
Even worse than the pain of conversions by inches, though, was the 28-yard catch by DeVonta Smith on a third-and-10 in the fourth quarter that set up the Hurts TD that extended the lead to 20-10. It was Philadelphia’s longest play of the day and one of just two completions that went for more than 10 yards. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, as he did repeatedly in the game, dialed up a “zero blitz” to pressure Hurts, but the Eagles quarterback hung in to find Smith – who burned the Chiefs with a 46-yard TD catch in Super Bowl 59 – in single coverage against Trent McDuffie. And Smith adjusted to haul in the throw on a jump ball.
This, after Smith was shaken up early in the third quarter after landing hard on his back on a third-and-long incompletion that was influenced by another all-out blitz.
“He came down on his back, he came up in the clutch,” Hurts waxed poetically of Smith. “What more can you ask for?”
One team had the knack for clutch plays on Sunday, while the other didn’t. Smith’s big play was set up by a big gaffe on Kansas City’s previous drive, when it appeared the Chiefs were on the verge of taking the lead. But on a third-and-goal from the Eagles’ 6, Mahomes’ pass to his usually-reliable go-to target, Travis Kelce, popped off the tight end’s hands and into the arms of rookie safety Andrew Mukuba at the goal line. Mukuba returned the interception 41 yards, the potential pick-six prevented by the hustle of first-round tackle Josh Simmons, who chased down the play for a sideline tackle.
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Mahomes, whose 187-yard passing day included a 49-yard TD throw to Tyquan Thornton late in the fourth quarter, blamed himself for the interception. That was debatable, given the tight window to squeeze the pass into.
“I think if I can put it more on his body and not so far in front of him, he can catch it, take the hit and get into the end zone,” Mahomes said.
The disconnect illustrated some of the issues for a Chiefs offense saddled by the loss of two deep-threat receivers – Rashee Rice is serving a six-game suspension, Xavier Worthy is nursing a dislocated shoulder suffered on the first drive of the season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers – and had such a spotty ground attack that Mahomes was the team’s leading rusher with 66 yards.
“It’s not like we’re missing by much,” said Mahomes, who also lamented missed chances for big plays early to tight end Noah Gray and late to Thornton. “I know it sucks to hear for the fans, but I think we’re close. All we can do is continue to work, continue to get after it.”
It’s too early to write the Chiefs off, as tempting as that is. But they resemble the dazed boxer trying to find a way after taking a few body blows. And this early-season sputtering comes against the trend of teams routinely falling flat in the season after losing a Super Bowl. Yet it’s a long season. It’s not time to panic. Some of their issues can be fixed, others will improve with health and time. Conceivably.
Reid summed up his postgame locker room message as follows: “Keep playing hard. I’ll take this one. Stick together.”
It’s typical for Reid to take the onus when adversity strikes. In this case, he took ownership of the interception, regretting the play-call.
Yet it was another decision by the veteran coach that deserves much more scrutiny.
On the opening drive of the second half, Reid went for it on a fourth-and-one from the Chiefs’ 36-yard line. The game was tied, 10-10, with nearly an entire half to play.
On his own end of the field, he clearly played with fire. And Reid hardly had an answer that was similar to Philadelphia’s “Tush Push” with a Jumbo formation and full-house backfield. Kareem Hunt was stuffed by Noah Smith for a one-yard loss.
But why? Reid is not Dan Campbell and typically doesn’t take such risks.
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“They were going to stay aggressive,” Reid explained, referencing the Eagles. “I thought it was important against that crew to just stay aggressive.”
Reid went for it on fourth-and-one later in the game, but the field position was completely different from the Eagles 13. He opted not to try tying the game with a chip-shot field goal early in the fourth quarter. Hunt converted with a three-yard run. Then disaster stuck with Mahomes’ interception.
On the fourth-and-one that didn’t work earlier, the Eagles converted the gift field position into a 51-yard Jake Elliott field goal, which turned out to be so monumental in a three-point game.
Mahomes, though, had no qualms with Reid’s gamble.
“I always want to go for it,” he said. “That’s who I am. I want to be aggressive. You always second-guess it when it doesn’t work. When it works, it’s a good thing. When it doesn’t, it’s a bad thing. I’d rather be on the aggressive side of history.”
Which just might beat the history associated with a certain type of hangover.
Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on social media: On X: @JarrettBell
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