Arrowhead Pride
The Kansas City Chiefs’ highly anticipated season opener in São Paulo, Brazil, ended in disappointment as the Los Angeles Chargers handed them a 27-21 loss on Friday night.
Despite showing signs of life in the second half, the Chiefs couldn’t overcome their sluggish start. Missed throws, sloppy execution and a lack of urgency put them in an early hole, forcing the team to play catch-up for the rest of the night.
“We can learn from this as we move forward,” head coach Andy Reid told reporters after the final gun. “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 offense stumbled out of the gate with a quick three-and-out on its opening possession. The defense only compounded matters by then allowing a seven-play, 68-yard touchdown drive to the Chargers’ offense. The teams then traded field goals in the second quarter, leaving the Chiefs trailing by seven at halftime.
“The first half we were off a bit,” observed Reid, “and then in the second half, [we] picked up a little bit. We had a few more explosives there — and got into a better rhythm — but I’ve got to make sure that we start faster.”
Mahomes struggled early, going 12-of-21 for 98 yards in the first half. But he stepped up after the break, finishing with 258 passing yards, a touchdown and multiple second-half highlight plays that injected some life into the team.
With the Chiefs reeling, Mahomes took matters into his own hands — or more accurately, his feet. He led the team in rushing with 57 yards and a touchdown on six carries. More than the numbers, it was the way he ran — refusing to slide and lowering his shoulder into defenders — that lit a spark on Kansas City’s sideline.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to do something to jump-start the team,” Mahomes explained after the game. “I was not in the mood to be running out of bounds. I wanted to try to do something to get us going. We kind of got going as an offense in the second half, but it takes everybody. We’ve got to start faster — and we’ve got to be better on both sides of the ball and special teams.”
But a big reason for the drop in energy at the beginning of the game was an injury to second-year wide receiver Xavier Worthy. The Chiefs’ main deep threat went down on the game’s third play after colliding with teammate Travis Kelce as the two ran crossing routes.
Reid said they’ll know more about the severity of Worthy’s injury after he gets an MRI in Kansas City, but his absence forced Kansas City to adjust its game plan. Mahomes was grateful that wideouts Tyquan Thornton, Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster stepped up.
“I thought Tyquan, Hollywood and JuJu did...
