The Kansas City Chiefs season opener against the Detroit Lions was brutal for wide receiver Kadarius Toney, who suffered two crucial drops that ultimately have become the sole reason for the team beginning the 2023 NFL season with an 0-1 record.
With his team up 14-7 in the third quarter, Toney let a pass go right through his hands and into the arms of Lions defensive back Brian Branch, who took it the other way for a pick-six, tying the game at 14. The other blunder was a dropped pass in the middle of the field with no defenders within Toney’s vicinity and nothing but green out in front – which had the potential to be a game-winning play – late in the fourth quarter, down by a point. The result was the Chiefs losing a close game, 21-20.
After the game, Toney has felt the wrath of NFL fans, critics, and the Chiefs faithful for the terrible performance. But despite finishing with just one catch for a yard, quarterback Patrick Mahomes says he has faith the third-year vet will bounce back as the season goes on.
“I have trust in KT,” Mahomes told reporters after the game on Thursday. “He missed a lot of training camp. Obviously, he wanted to play and fought in rehab hard so he could play. Stuff is not always going to go your way”, Mahomes sympathized. “Obviously, he would have wanted to catch a few of those in the game, but I have trust that he is going to be the guy that I go to in those crucial moments, and he’s going to make the catch and win us some games like he did last year. I’m sure that those drops will disappear.”
Toney missed most of training camp with a knee injury and did not suit up in any of Kansas City’s exhibition games. Instead, he had three days of practice before being thrown to wolves under the lights of a primetime NFL game, which doesn’t bode well for any young player entering a starting role. Losing tight end Travis Kelce roughly 48 hours before kickoff due to a hyper-extended knee likely didn’t help matters for the Chiefs either.
Especially since the veteran tight end plays such a significant role on offense and is typically Mahomes’ go-to guy in certain situations in which the offense needs a big play.
Mahomes finished Week 1, going 21 of 39 for 226 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick. Although he didn’t have a ton of luck slinging the ball to his receiving core, Mahomes said he isn’t going to shy away from using his arm to move the chains.
“I think they know that I’m going to keep firing it,” Mahomes said, “and so we’ll try to get it fixed this next week and correct it going into the next game.”
