Chiefs coach Andy Reid addresses the fourth-down decision: ‘I messed that one up’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Andy Reid owned the failed fourth-down decision and took full responsibility.
- Chiefs converted 1-of-3 fourth downs Sunday after a season 81% rate.
- Missed fourth-down conversion gave Texans a short-field touchdown and momentum.
After the Kansas City Chiefs battled back to tie the Houston Texans at 10 late in the third quarter — at home, in front of their fans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium — it finally felt like they had found the spark that had been missing.
That feeling of inevitability when it comes to the Chiefs has felt absent all too often this season, but here, in this spot, there was a genuine feeling they had recaptured it.
Then at their own 31-yard line, facing fourth-and-1, they gave it all away.
Before taking a question Sunday night, head coach Andy Reid opened his news conference by owning the decision that contributed to the Chiefs’ 20-10 loss to the Houston Texans.
“I put the guys offensively in a tough position with the fourth downs,” Reid said. “I (was) trying to stay aggressive with it, (and) I take full responsibility for that. And there are opportunities that you’ve got to take advantage of.
“You’re playing a good football team in the Texans, and when you have opportunities to make plays, you need to make plays, and we were short just a little bit there.
To begin the half, the Chiefs defense had completely flipped the game’s energy, highlighted by Chris Jones making Texans quarterback CJ Stroud uncomfortable on seemingly every dropback.
Failing to pick up a new set of downs after Patrick Mahomes’ nine-yard scramble had to be frustrating, but the risk at that field position far outweighed the reward.
Kansas City learned that the hard way when Mahomes’ fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
“I thought we could get it — that was the decision,” Reid said, with a hollow laugh, almost in disbelief. “I was confident we could do that. It’s important that you take advantage of opportunities — I thought it was an opportunity.
“I was wrong, now. Hindsight, it was wrong. We’ve been pretty good on fourth downs, so… you know. I messed that one up.”
Entering Sunday, the Chiefs led the league in fourth-down conversion rate (81%), going 21-for-26. Against the Texans, they went 1-for-3, and the miss from their own 31 became the game’s defining moment.
On the critical play, the Chiefs aligned in an empty set, with Kareem Hunt on the line of scrimmage to Mahomes’ left and Rashee Rice wide to the right. At the snap, Hunt and Rice crossed, but Houston kept good coverage. “They did a good job on fourth down passing off the crossers,” Mahomes said. “I tried to get the ball to Rashee — I think I was a little late, and the guy made a great play.”
Reid explained the concept had a familiar feel to one of their three fourth-down conversions against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
“It was a little similar to last week when we threw the ball to Wiley there,” Reid said. “We felt we had run it a couple of times, so we came back and thought we had an answer with it — and it didn’t work out the way we planned.”
Asked for more on the play, Mahomes said he never questioned Reid’s aggressiveness, instead citing a lack of execution.
“Coach Reid believes in us,” Mahomes said. “We’ve executed in that same situation several times this season. They did a good job of passing (off) the crossers. I wish I got to Rashee a little bit earlier or if I could have bought more a little more time.
“In hindsight, probably try to hit (Travis Kelce) over the top of the defender, but he made a good play. They made good plays today. But I’ll never question the decision to go for it because I believe in the offense and who we are.”
With the short field, the Texans scored a go-ahead touchdown six plays later, and the game — and perhaps the Chiefs’ season — began to unravel.
Even after losses, Reid rarely regrets in-game decisions publicly — and so his tone Sunday night was somewhat unusual.
But in 2025, what once came off as unusual has become the norm, and the gravity of this particular fourth-down call is likely to be one that is felt for quite some time.
This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 6:30 AM.
