Detroit safety Brian Branch (32) intercepts a pass that bounced off the hands of Kansas City wide receiver Kadarius Toney, left, before running it back for a touchdown in the second half on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo. Ed Zurga/Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs proved in their season-opening loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night that their defense can get by just fine without Chris Jones, at least for a while, as the All-Pro defensive tackle continues his holdout.
Travis Kelce is another matter.
While the Chiefs’ defense repelled the Lions all night, their perpetually high-scoring offense fizzled, undone by dropped passes, penalties and miscommunication. Patrick Mahomes looked a beat off, the offensive line played well until two significant penalties as the Chiefs tried to march for a go-ahead field goal, and just about everyone who had an opportunity to get their hands on the ball dropped it at least once, all leading to a 21-20 loss at Arrowhead Stadium.
Perhaps it would have turned out differently if Mahomes had Kelce, his All-Pro tight end and sure-handed security blanket, who missed the game after hyperextending his knee in practice two days earlier.
“I mean, you’re losing I think the best tight end of all time,” Mahomes said. “It’s going to have an impact on the game, but others guys have to step up, and they’re going to have to step up in moments, because I’m sure there will be times when he gets doubled, and so we’re just going to have to rely on guys that are young and talented to step up and make plays.”
Mahomes finished by saying, “I believe they will.” But they did little Thursday night to create a whole lot of confidence.
Noah Gray, who was first off the bench to replace Kelce, miscommunicated once with Mahomes and dropped his pass on another play. Jerick McKinnon, who rarely drops a pass, did so late in the game. Kadarius Toney not only had one bounce off his hands for a pick-6 but dropped what would have been a long gain as the Chiefs were driving for go-ahead points.
Hard to believe that Kelce would have dropped so many balls under any circumstances.
“Got to be better as an offense,” said Blake Bell, another Kansas City tight end. “Defense battled their tails off, played great. Offensively we’ve got to finish when we get down there and whatever it is – dropped balls – we’re just not scoring.”
Kelce tried to convince Chiefs Coach Andy Reid and trainer Rick Burkholder to let him play, going through a series of drills earlier in the day. But he acknowledged some pain in the knee, and Reid and Burkholder decided to give him the night off.
There is hope that the 10 days before the Chiefs’ next game in Jacksonville is enough to ensure Kelce is back on the field.
“I feel like we put ourselves in some bad situations. We didn’t execute. Couldn’t get conversions on third downs,” McKinnon said. “When you play against a good team you can’t do those things, and if you can’t come up with points, this is what happens.”
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