KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas Town Chiefs anticipated issues to be bumpy from time to time of their season opener with out injured tight finish Travis Kelce of their lineup. They didn’t essentially be expecting their offense to try up to it did of their 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions.

“It’s going to have an impact on the game,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes stated of Kelce’s absence. “But other guys have to step up and they’re going to have to step up in moments. Sure, there’ll be times [after Kelce returns] that he gets doubled and so we’re just going to have to rely on these other guys that are young and talented to step up and make plays, and I believe that they will.”

That didn’t occur in opposition to the Lions. The Chiefs dropped diverse passes, none extra destructive than the reputedly simple catch that Kadarius Toney deflected to Lions protection Brian Department, whose interception and go back for a landing within the 3rd quarter used to be the sport’s defining play games.

The Chiefs have been hopeful Toney may well be their Refuse. 1 huge receiver. However he neglected all of coaching camp then having surgical procedure for a torn meniscus and simplest just lately returned to observe.

He dropped two alternative passes and wound up with one catch for one backyard.

“I have trust in [Toney],” Mahomes stated. “He missed a lot of training camp, and obviously he wanted to play and fought [during] rehab hard so he could play and stuff’s not always going to go your way.

“Clearly he would’ve sought after to catch a couple of of the ones within the recreation, however I’ve depended on he’s getting to be that man that I journey to in the ones a very powerful moments, and he’s getting to assemble the catch and win us some video games like he did ultimate week. So we’re getting to proceed to paintings him in, get him increasingly more reps, and I’m certain that the ones drops will more or less disappear.”

Mahomes was 10-of-22 (46%) throwing to wide receivers, his worst completion percentage to wideouts in 35 career games in which he has attempted at least 20 passes. The Chiefs’ leading receiver was running back Isiah Pacheco, who had four catches.

The Chiefs were hopeful Kelce, who hyperextended his knee in practice two days before the game, could have played. But coach Andy Reid indicated the decision to sit Kelce wasn’t a difficult one.

“It simply wasn’t feeling proper, so I wasn’t going to position him available in the market with that,” Reid said. “And he used to be fair with me and we talked, so simply no longer enough quantity era there.”

A Week 2 game against the Jaguars in Jacksonville is next for the Chiefs. They will work to get Kelce ready for that game. Judging from the way they played against the Lions, they’re going to need him.

“I’m no longer going to position anything else era Trav,” Mahomes said. “He used to be seeking to play games nowadays. He simply actually couldn’t. I don’t even know if it used to be his resolution. It used to be more or less the blokes above him understanding it’s getting to be an extended season.

“He’s going to try. He’ll do whatever he can to be out there, and hopefully he can clear all those doctors’ tests and then get out there on the football field.”