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The Kansas City Chiefs did not have the season opener they had hoped for. Kansas City lost 27-21 against Los Angeles in a thrilling game that came right down to the end. The Chiefs looked outmatched against a much-improved Chargers team. But a loss is a loss.
Los Angeles caught Kansas City at the right time. The Chiefs had multiple players banged up heading into this game. That is hard to ignore after the fact, especially in a close game like this one.
But which players are most responsible for this Week 1 loss? And should Chiefs fans be worried about the rest of the season?
Below we will explore who is most to blame for the Chiefs’ Week 1 loss against the Chargers in Brazil.
Kansas City’s wide receiver depth has been a problem for a while now. But it went from bad to worse in the season opener.
Second-year receiver Xavier Worthy left the game after Kansas City’s first offensive possession. He had a high-speed collision with Travis Kelce and left the game with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.
Worthy’s departure made a bad situation even worse for the Chiefs. Especially because they had to come up with a backup plan on the fly.
The Chiefs are without Rashee Rice for the first six games of the season after his recent suspension. His return could help open up Kansas City’s offense, but it will be a while.
The Chiefs were also without rookie Jalen Royals, who missed Week 1 with a knee injury that’s been bothering him since August.
Ultimately, the responsibility fell on Hollywood Brown to become the team’s top target alongside Travis Kelce.
The Chiefs will eventually get healthy and look much better on paper. But they’ll have to survive the early stretches of the regular season first.
It feels incredibly rare to put Andy Reid himself on a list like this. But even he would tell you it’s appropriate in this circumstance.
Reid admitted that he and the coaching staff did not prepare the Chiefs enough for Week 1. He specifically pointed to the team’s mental state as being unprepared for the season opener.
“We can learn from this as we move forward,” Reid told reporters after the game, per Arrowhead Pride’s Ricko Mendoza. “I’ve got to make sure I get my team in a better [mental] state there coming out — and [to be] playing with more emotion. We were a little flat [in] that first half — and that cost us.”
The Chiefs deserve some credit for finding their way in the second half. But it was not enough to get them a victory.
“The first half we were off a bit,” Reid added. “And then in the second half, [we] picked up a little bit. We had a few more explosives there — and got into a...
