Andy Reid doubles down: Skyy Moore held on touchdown try

Kansas City’s head coach defended his second year wideout amid a week of criticism.

As the Kansas City Chiefs near the halfway point of the 2023 season, the biggest offseason concern still looms over the roster: production from the team’s wide receivers.

In Week 8’s 24-9 loss to the Denver Broncos, the position group that seemed so deep as the Chiefs broke training camp could not find a rhythm as the team failed to score a touchdown. A common concern of the (still 6-2) season has been the inability of pass catchers to get open, causing quarterback Patrick Mahomes to hold onto the ball for too long.

Speaking before practice on Wednesday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid refused to single out the wide receiver room for his squad’s struggles.

“We’re going to be OK there,” he stated of his wideouts. “We’ll just keep getting better, all the way along. It’s not just a wide receiver thing — it’s all of us. A week ago, we were saying how good they did. Just keep the consistency going on the offensive side is what we need to do all the way around, not just the wide receivers.”

A major concern about the wide receivers has been the lack of apparent development from second-year player Skyy Moore — taken 54th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Through eight games, Moore has only 168 receiving yards, with 54 coming on a single play in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Moore dropped what appeared to be a very catchable touchdown pass from Mahomes on Sunday, which could have jump-started a Chiefs comeback.

Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images

Reid reiterated comments from Monday that he believes Moore was held on the play.

“Skyy’s doing well,” said the coach. “We’re rotating a lot of guys in there, so [multiple players have] opportunities. I mentioned about the one throw…You get that arm yanked down, [and] it ends up being a one-armed catch. He took a lot of heat for that. For the most part, Skyy’s doing a heck of a job for us. Just keep him growing.”

Speaking after Reid, Moore refused to lean on the uncalled penalty excuse for his drop.

“It was a grab,” he recalled, “but you get grabbed every play. I’m expected to make that catch — I know that— but on to the next play.”

Moore also denied that the Chiefs’ frequent rotation of wide receivers prevents him from finding his groove.

“I really don’t see it as a challenge,” he declared. “Everybody’s getting in. There’s seven totally different receivers, so [there are] new weapons each play.”

Though he is only in his second season, Moore offered his thoughts on what the Chiefs can do to make Week 7’s 31-point showing against the Los Angeles Chargers more typical than their nine-point performance in Denver.

“Just getting back to the basics and keep coming to work every day,” claimed Moore. “At the end of the day, we know we’re a good football team. We’ve just got to fix up the little details we know we’ll need in the long run.”

Careers can move fast in the NFL. As his second season rolls along, Moore knows what his goal needs to be going forward.

“Just do a better job of finishing the opportunities that I get,” he observed of his season thus far. “When they come, [I need to] just make the play.”