Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs started the new season in disappointing fashion as they lost 21-20 to the Detroit Lions at home. The Chiefs were without Chris Jones and Travis Kelce and had they played, the Super Bowl champions could have easily won the game.
While the Chiefs’ defense did play well without Jones, their wide receivers had a poor outing. After the game, Colin Cowherd talked about the Chiefs’ performance, and he highlighted how the Chiefs missed Kelce much more than Jones.
Here’s what Cowherd said on his podcast:
“When you lose Tyreek Hill, Juju Smith-Schuster, Travis Kelce becomes even more crucial. I mean, how many passes did Toney drop tonight? How many passes did Kansas City drop tonight?
I mean, Travis Kelce would have gotten a dozen 13-14 targets, made 9-10 catches, probably for over 100 yards. So they really missed Travis Kelce tonight, his ball security, his hands, his dependability on big third-down plays and that’s not an excuse. That’s probably the difference in the ballgame.”Kelce is that much of a security blanket in key spots like Brady and Gronk. He just is great, great players Edelman, Gronk, how big were they in playoff games, big games on third down or fourth down in the red zone for Tom Brady? Even great players have players they depend on…”
Wide receiver Kadarius Toney had a nightmare game as he finished with just one reception on five targets for a single yard. Furthermore, his drop resulted in a pick-six for the Lions, and that proved to be the turning point in the game.
Moreover, Skyy Moore, who was projected to have a big game finished with no receptions on three targets. It is believed that Travis Kelce will likely play next week, but if he doesn’t, the Chiefs could be in serious trouble.
