Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes discuss what went wrong vs. Bills

“You kind of just have to take it on the chin,” said Mahomes.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes are not used to the position they found themselves in on Sunday night — beaten by an in-conference foe by multiple scores at Arrowhead Stadium.

Reid and Mahomes took turns at the podium after an uncharacteristic 38-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“I didn’t see this coming,” said Reid. “Not tonight. Tonight, I came in thinking we had a chance to win the game. We didn’t handle ourselves the right way, so that’s my responsibility to get that right. I look forward to when both sides of the ball play well together because we could be a real good football team.”

The Chiefs offense managed 13 points in the first half, but the Chiefs defense allowed scores on four of the first five Bills possessions. Then, in the second half, the Chiefs defense forced three straight punts, but the offense could not rise to the occasion.

“I know the third quarter; we came out and we were sound defensively and played well,” noted Reid. “Guys were flying around, there was a certain energy, and offensively we didn’t take care of business there. We drove it down the field and then gave it to them. So, you’ve got to put it together. Both sides have to play well. When you’re playing a good team, both sides have to play well. That’s what keeps me going on that. We’re going to figure this out and get that done. When that happens, we’ll have a good thing going.”

A significant part of the problem for the Chiefs this season has been turnovers. The Chiefs had another four turnovers on Sunday against the Bills.

“It starts with me,” said Mahomes, who had two picks and a late fumble. “Three of them were on me. The interceptions and fumble at the end of the game, and so I have to correct that, I have to be better. It’s something that I’ve not usually done in my career, but I have to reevaluate where I’m at, what decisions I’m making, so once we do that, we kind of hurt ourselves, I think we’ll find ways to score points. Turnovers are a huge deal in this league. Turnover margin usually decides games, so it’s something we have to correct if we want to win these football games.”

Asked about the state of the locker room after the game, Mahomes explained that the Chiefs were honest with themselves.

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“You kind of just have to take it on the chin,” he said. “You have to get better, at the end of the day that’s what we got to do. Still got a long season left, but this is one you’re going to remember. That’s a good football team, don’t get me wrong, but we don’t lose football games like that, especially at home.”

One of Mahomes’ tasks moving forward will be keeping his teammates motivated despite the recent struggles; with the extra game in 2021, there are still 12 games ahead.

“I think we know that we have what it takes to be great,” Mahomes concluded. “We still have a lot of the players, we brought in a lot of good players that have been really good other places, so we know that we have what it takes. It’s just about coming together now and finding a way to do that. We’ve had spurts here and there offensively, defensively, special teams, stuff like that. But at the end of the day, it’s about coming together as a team because in this league it’s not about good players, it’s about good teams.

“We have to do that, and we have to find a way. We have a tough schedule, and we have to win now at the end of the day.”