Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid made it clear how he felt about the end of his team’s unbeaten run.
“I don’t really care about all that crap,” Reid said on Monday, just a day after the Bills defeated the Chiefs 30-21, ending their 15-game winning streak that stretched back to last season.
“I just try to go forward,” Reid explained. “I focus on the next team we’re playing, present that challenge to the players, and expect them to do the same. I don’t really hear a lot of talk from them or see them worrying too much about it.”
The reality is that the Chiefs (9-1) dropped to first place in the AFC, but they still have the best record in the conference and control their own path to securing the No. 1 seed for the playoffs and the first-round bye.
The only thing that changed is the margin — they are now just half a game ahead of Buffalo (9-2) and don’t have the tiebreaker over one of their usual playoff rivals.
As for the Chiefs’ pursuit of perfection, quarterback Patrick Mahomes shared a similar mindset after the loss.
“I’m not going to say we were relaxed. But at the same time, I feel like we’ve been winning these games at the end,” Mahomes said. “I think this loss will spark more urgency in us, especially on offense.”
He added, “The hope is that this will motivate us to play better football the rest of the season and into the postseason.”
There are reasons to believe the Chiefs will bounce back, especially with two key players returning soon. First, running back Isiah Pacheco, who has been out since Week 2 with an ankle injury, could be back.
Second, defensive end Charles Omenihu, who has yet to play this season after recovering from a torn ACL suffered in last year’s playoffs, could also return. Both players returned to practice last week, and they might be ready to play as soon as Sunday against Carolina.
“You’ve got to dig in, man. These should hurt. You spend a lot of time preparing for these games,” Reid said. “As coaches and players, you’ve got to reach deep inside. You can’t just say, ‘Everything is going to be OK.’ That’s not how this works. You have to dig in, check your ego, and do some self-evaluation.”
