The Kansas City Chiefs could potentially miss the NFL Playoffs for the first time in over a decade after a disappointing road defeat at the hands of the division-leading Denver Broncos.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce attempted to lead the team to a desperately needed win with the Chiefs’ quarterback throwing for 276 yards, including a touchdown to Kelce, who finished with 91 receiving yards. However, a late field goal as time expired gave the Broncos a 22-19 win and a more substantial lead atop the AFC West division.
That loss dropped Kansas City to 5-5 overall, with the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans winning their recent games to improve to the same record. The difference is that the Ravens and Texans are on win streaks, while KC appears to be slumping, potentially costing them a postseason berth.
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Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spoke to the media on Monday, with one reporter mentioning Kansas City’s playoff appearance in another season in which they were 5-5 after 10 games.
“So we’re not quite as negative as the outside world is,” Reid said about the team’s situation, adding, “We know what we need to clean up and we need to do it, but the guys, they get it.”
“These guys have been through some pretty good seasons, and this isn’t like this one’s lost. We just gotta clean up a few of the things, and the urgency level, we need to make sure we take care of that now,” he said.
Reid accepted some of the blame for the loss himself, claiming he could’ve given his team “better opportunities to get into the end zone.” However, he also mentioned that costly penalties hurt their efforts against Denver.
The NFL Playoffs picture currently has Kansas City considered in the hunt with the Ravens and Texans. Meanwhile, the Broncos are No. 1 in the current AFC postseason picture, after their win over KC.
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Reid said he told the Chiefs players after the loss to the Broncos that all they could do was focus on the next game. That’s against another AFC Playoffs contender, the Indianapolis Colts, on Sunday. To their advantage, they’ll host the game at Arrowhead Stadium.
“You have to take care of the small things, and that’s coaches included,” Reid said regarding previous teams he coached that struggled but made the postseason.
Missing this year’s NFL Playoffs would mark only the second time that has occurred under Reid as Chiefs coach. The other was Reid’s second season as KC’s coach in 2014. The team was 9-7 in that season and has yet to finish with a losing record under Reid.
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