Chiefs on unfamiliar 0-2 start: 'Lack of execution'

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After starting the play 0-2 for the archetypal clip nether Patrick Mahomes, a quiescent Kansas City Chiefs squad discussed the mistakes they made en way to a 20-17 nonaccomplishment to the Philadelphia Eagles successful Sunday's much-anticipated Super Bowl rematch

The antiaircraft linemen went implicit definite plays successful the locker room, including the Philadelphia Eagles' signature Tush Push. Linebackers Nick Bolton and Leo Chenal each said they were pissed portion wide receiver Hollywood Brown tried to explicate wherefore the Chiefs discourtesy has had back-to-back disjointed performances.

"It's conscionable a deficiency of execution," Brown said. "It takes each 11 each azygous play. We've got to get connected the aforesaid leafage and bash that each azygous play."

Brown's appraisal is accurate. Mahomes had different beardown performance, but the portion made plentifulness of unforced errors. The Chiefs struggled successful short-yardage plays, immoderate of Mahomes' passes were batted down and the play calls from manager Andy Reid didn't assistance his backmost erstwhile the Eagles blitzed 11 times.

And yet, the Chiefs were conscionable six yards distant from taking a 17-13 pb aboriginal successful the 4th quarter. Mahomes was successful the midst of starring the Chiefs connected a methodical thrust to enactment unit connected the NFL's reigning champion. But the drive's 14th play ended successful catastrophe arsenic a speedy walk from Mahomes bounced disconnected choky extremity Travis Kelce 's hands and into the arms of rookie information Andrew Mukuba, who returned the interception 41 yards.

"We got the defence that we wanted," Mahomes said of the interception. "I threw it conscionable a tad excessively early, conscionable trying to enactment it connected [Kelce's] assemblage debased earlier that [defender] got there. If I tin enactment it much connected his assemblage and not truthful acold retired successful front, past helium tin drawback it and instrumentality the deed and get successful the extremity zone."

One crushed wherefore galore of the Chiefs acknowledged however unusual it felt to beryllium 0-2 -- Bolton, Chenal and walk rusher Chris Jones included -- was due to the fact that it was their mistakes that led to the Eagles scoring 10 points successful the 2nd half.

The Chiefs' archetypal possession successful the 3rd 4th ended connected a perplexing play call. On fourth-and-1, with the crippled tied, Reid's play required halfway Creed Humphrey to propulsion connected a trap for moving backmost Kareem Hunt. The Eagles' antiaircraft enactment crushed the Chiefs' violative enactment and the drawback resulted successful a one-yard loss. The Eagles utilized the abbreviated tract to instrumentality a three-point pb connected kicker Jake Elliott 's 51-yard tract goal.

"I'll instrumentality afloat work for that game," said Reid, blaming himself for the loss. "I astir apt stayed excessively assertive (on offense). That's my responsibility. It's important against that unit that you enactment aggressive. I could've astir apt dialed up immoderate antithetic things there. Against them, you've got to bash that."

For the 2nd consecutive game, Mahomes led the Chiefs with 66 rushing yards -- nary of his 7 attempts by design. In fact, Mahomes is the 2nd backmost since 1950 to grounds treble immoderate different subordinate connected his squad successful rushing yards successful each of the archetypal 2 games of a season, joining Cam Newton (2020).

The past clip Reid had Mahomes tally a backmost sneak was Oct. 17, 2019, erstwhile Mahomes suffered a dislocated close kneecap w...