Day after Chiefs loss looks just as bleak to coach Andy Reid

A night’s sleep, or perhaps a sleepless night, didn’t soften Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s mood about his team’s 38-28 loss to the Packers on Monday night.

He took the blame, for all of it, including Alex Smith’s short passes on third-and-long.

“Alex is doing fine,” Reid said. “That’s not Alex. That’s me.”

The defeat, coming 1  1/2 weeks after the last-second loss to Denver, was a gut-punch. The Chiefs knew the task was large, playing a formidable opponent in its iconic stadium and led by one of football’s best quarterbacks — Aaron Rodgers — at the top of his game.

But the Chiefs expected better than falling behind 31-7 early in the second half before mounting a late charge.

“I’ve got to do a better job, particularly with 10 days of getting my team ready,” Reid said. “That didn’t take place. We made way too many mistakes. That starts with me.

“I’m going to make sure we get this thing fixed.”

The Chiefs travel to Cincinnati on Sunday and meet another potent offense led by wide receiver A.J. Green.

Cornerback Sean Smith will return for the Chiefs. He sat out the first three games serving a suspension for a DUI arrest. Reid said Smith probably will start on Sunday.

“I know he’s been working out like crazy, it’s a matter of getting him back in the football swing of things,” Reid said. “We’ll probably put him right back in and get going.”

But the Chiefs may be down a corner in Phillip Gaines. He left the game in the first half because of what Reid described as a knee sprain on a non-contact play. Gaines left the locker room with a knee brace and on crutches. He was scheduled for an MRI Tuesday.

As was the case after the previous week’s biting loss to the Broncos, Reid didn’t want to labor over the details after the Packers debacle but believes the Chiefs will bounce back.

“I’m very confident in this group,” Reid said. “It’s important to take care of a few things. I start with myself. We’ve all got to do a better job and that’s the bottom line.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Day after Chiefs loss looks just as bleak to coach Andy Reid."