Chiefs say they’ve moved on from Kadarius Toney penalty drama: ‘It’s how you respond’
Don’t bother asking Andy Reid about the controversial moment toward the end of last weekend’s home loss to the Buffalo Bills.
“We’re not there,” Reid said. “We’ve moved on. That’s where we’re at.”
In other words, the Chiefs’ head coach is not interested in rehashing further the offensive-offsides penalty called against wide receiver Kadarius Toney with 1 minutes, 25 seconds remaining and the Chiefs trailing the Buffalo Bills by three.
The play involved an amazing sequence that started with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completing a pass to tight end Travis Kelce; it ended with Toney running into the end zone after catching a lateral pass from Kelce.
But that touchdown didn’t count.
Reid fumed after the game, calling the flag “a bit embarrassing” for the NFL. Players in the dejected Chiefs locker room discussed their disappointment in the penalty and the loss.
On Monday, Reid softened his stance, saying his issue wasn’t the penalty but rather a lack of communication with the on-field NFL officiating crew for not issuing a warning to Toney.
But on Wednesday, in his weekly meeting with reporters, Reid signaled he was finished discussing the topic.
“We’re going forward,” Reid said.
Toney declined to comment to The Star on Wednesday, but Reid, Mahomes and Kelce, through his New Heights podcast, said the wide receiver in his second year with the Chiefs is in a good place.
“Just be you, man,” Mahomes said of his message to Toney. “That’s all you can do in life, or in this league. You’re going to make mistakes. Stuff’s going to happen in your life. How do you accept that adversity and get past it and do it the right way?
“Coach Reid preaches that, and that’s how I roll. You make a mistake, it’s not going to define you. It’s going to be how you respond to that mistake.”