Arrowhead Pride
Despite their 22-9 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs failed to answer many of the frustrating questions surrounding their offense in 2025 — with one key exception.
Wide receiver Tyquan Thornton — a former second-round selection of the New England Patriots who joined Kansas City’s practice squad after being waived last November — had the best game of his career, finishing with five receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown.
He nearly had a second score midway through the fourth quarter. Thornton had appeared to haul in a 34-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes — but after review, officials ruled he did not maintain possession. On the very next play, the two connected again on nearly the same route, with Thornton ruled down inside the one-yard line. On the following snap, running back Kareem Hunt collected the touchdown.
Thornton trusted Mahomes to give him another chance.
“I saw the ball as soon as it came out of his hand,” Thornton recalled after the game. “I knew he was coming to me. I knew he was going to give me another opportunity, so once I locked on the nose of the ball, I just squeezed on it.”
Thornton credited head coach Andy Reid’s process for having him ready to run two difficult routes in succession.
“We trained for that in training camp,” he said. “We’ve got long-drive drills. Coach Reid makes it really difficult for us. We go out there and just work.”
Since the end of camp, Thornton has made it a priority to maximize his practice time with Mahomes.
“Practice reps become game realities,” he declared. “So you go out there and you work at the little things, and you challenge yourself. You don’t shy away from it — and then on Sundays, you give yourself a chance.”
With Kansas City missing key wideouts due to injuries and a suspension, Thornton is taking advantage of the opportunity. He’s now tied with wide receiver Hollywood Brown for the team lead with 171 receiving yards — although his nine receptions are less than half of Brown’s total. He also has two of the three receiving touchdowns scored by the Chiefs’ struggling offense.
Mahomes was impressed with Thornton upon his arrival last fall, when his first opportunities with the team arose.
“You get in those practices sometimes, and guys are banged up at the end of the season,” Mahomes recalled. “[Thornton] would come in and run some of those deeper routes. I [threw] to him a couple of times last year just to see what he had. You could see he had juice… [This year,] he was one of those guys working with me in Texas. I knew he was going to be a good football player, but he’s even exceeding my expectations. He’s stepping up whenever the opportunity has been provided for him.”
Thornton admitted that Mahomes’ praise hit home.
“It means a lot,” he said, “because when I first got here — coming...
