Andy Reid’s KC Chiefs had previously enjoyed success in this category. Not this season
Turnovers are getting to be a nasty habit for the Chiefs. And they’re a major reason Kansas City is in last place in the AFC West.
The Chiefs were at their sloppiest, again, in Sunday’s 38-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium. They committed four turnovers, including the second pick-six of Patrick Mahomes’ career.
That happened in the third quarter, when Buffalo safety Micah Hyde was in the right place to grab a ball that deflected off Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill’s hands. Hyde’s 26-yard return to the end zone extended the Bills’ lead to 31-13.
Mahomes threw another interception that defensive end Greg Rousseau deflected and grabbed, and he lost a fumble. Both mistakes occurred in the red zone to end scoring chances for the Chiefs as they tried to rally.
“I have to re-evaluate where I’m at, what decisions I’m making,” Mahomes said. “It starts with me, the interceptions, the fumble. I have to correct that.
“Interceptions aren’t something I’ve had in my career.”
True. But Mahomes has now thrown six interceptions this season. He finished with six picks all of last season and just five in 2019 — Super Bowl seasons for the Chiefs.
Even in three years at Texas Tech, Mahomes’ touchdown-to-interception ratio was a robust 93/29.
The other turnover Sunday occurred on Byron Pringle’s fumble of a kickoff return. That’s the second in two games for Pringle. His fumble last week was recovered by teammate Jerick McKinnon last in Philadelphia.
The Bills jumped on this one.
Add it up, and that’s 11 giveaways as a team in the past four games. The Chiefs committed two at Batlimore, including a Clyde Edwards-Helaire fumble to seal a. one-point loss to the Ravens. They also had four giveaways against the L.A. Chargers and one last week.
To compound matters, Sunday’s loss to the Bills marked the third straight game in which the Chiefs didn’t force a turnover. Getting takeaways was key to their opening-game victory over the Cleveland Browns, and Tyrann Mathieu returned an interception for a touchdown against the Ravens.
Since then, nada.
The errors are uncharacteristic of Andy Reid-coached teams in Kansas City. The Chiefs have been among the NFL’s best in turnover-margin under Reid. Only in 2014 did they record more giveaways than takeaways.
Five games into this season, they’ve committed 11 turnovers and gained just four.
“Those have to stop for us to be competitive,” Reid said. “I have to make sure the team is playing the right way. We’re not playing the right way.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2021 at 1:14 AM.