Why Patrick Mahomes said he was ‘embarrassed’ by season-opening loss to Detroit Lions
How un-Patrick Mahomes-ian was the Chiefs’ 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday?
Let’s count the ways.
He’s 0-1 for the first time as a starter, ending a five-year winning streak in opening games.
Not only did he throw his first interception in a season debut, it was returned for a touchdown for only the third pick-six of his career.
When the Chiefs got ball back in good field position in the fourth quarter trailing by one, in what is usually game-winning time for Mahomes, they went backwards 15 yards.
Asked if the loss was embarrassing because it happened on a night when the Chiefs raised their Super Bowl banner at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Mahomes didn’t duck the question.
“It’s embarrassing for me to lose anytime,” Mahomes said.
No disrespect to the Lions was intended. But Mahomes and the Chiefs believed in their strong hand even without superstar tight end Travis Kelce, a game-day scratch after suffering a knee injury in practice earlier this week, and holdout defensive end Chris Jones.
But hands proved to be one of the Chiefs’ weaknesses. Kansas City’s wide receivers came up with a nasty case of the drops. Kadarius Toney, who missed all of training camp with a knee injury, had four. None was bigger than a final-drive error that would’ve set up the Chiefs in Lions territory, trailing by one.
Toney wasn’t the only player with dropped passes Thursday, but he was a repeat offender. Yet Mahomes said he won’t be shy about continuing to target Toney, one of the team’s Super Bowl heroes with a touchdown reception and long punt return against Philly in February.
“I think they know that I’m going to keep firing it,” Mahomes said. “We’ll try to get it fixed this next week and correct it going into the next game.”
The two-time NFL and Super Bowl MVP finished 21 of 39 for 226 yards. He fired a pair of touchdown passes, to Rashee Rice and Blake Bell, before the interception.
Mahomes hummed over a 30-second span late in the second quarter. And for that brief stretch, all seemed right with the KC offense.
On a third-and-17, Mahomes fired a deep-middle strike to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He followed that with a 24-yard completion to an open Justin Watson along the sideline. And on the next snap he rifled a sidearm laser to Bell for the touchdown that produced a 14-7 lead.
But that was the Chiefs’ last touchdown. A pair of Harrison Butker field goals were the hosts’ only contributions to the scoreboard in the second half.
Not having Kelce had an impact, Mahomes said.
“Your losing one of the best, I think the best tight end of all time,” Mahomes said. “But other guys have to step up, and they’re going to have to step up in (other) moments because there will be times when he gets doubled.
“(We’re j)ust going to have to rely on other guys that are young and talented to make plays. I believe they will.”
This story was originally published September 8, 2023 at 12:10 AM.