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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The losses were piling up early in the season for the Kansas City Chiefs in a way they shouldn’t for a two-time defending AFC champion with a reasonable preseason goal of playing in a third straight Super Bowl.
The Chiefs lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 after leading by 11 points in the fourth quarter. They lost to the Los Angeles Chargers the next week after committing four turnovers. They lost to the Buffalo Bills by 18 points in Week 5. They lost to the Tennessee Titans in Week 7 after scoring three points, their lowest total since Patrick Mahomes became their starting quarterback in 2018.
If there was ever a time for panic, for serious intervention by the head coach, for change for change’s sake, this was it. The Chiefs were 3-4 and merely making the playoffs — much less winning a few games once there — looked unlikely.
But every day at the Chiefs’ practice facility was much like the one before it, much like the ones from years past. They gather to practice and meet and work out solutions to their many on-field issues.
There was no yelling, screaming or drama of any kind coming from the office of coach Andy Reid. He didn’t cut any of the Chiefs’ several underperforming players. He didn’t even threaten it. He didn’t order the Chiefs to put on the pads and hit at practice.
The decisions he made weren’t ones of emotion or filled with drama. They were executed after some thought, because win or lose, that is Reid’s way.
Reid’s steady approach seems vindicated. After that 3-4 start, the Chiefs rallied to win eight straight games and claim their sixth consecutive AFC West championship. They finished the regular season at 12-5 and will open the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 2 seed on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium (8:15 p.m. ET, NBC).
“He knows exactly what he wants to do and where he wants to go and how he wants to get there,” said Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, an assistant to Reid for 11…
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Source : espn
