Kadarius Toney entered the 2023 season anticipated to be within the combine to develop into the Chiefs’ No. 1 receiver. JuJu Smith-Schuster left in free company, so with Travis Kelce out in Week 1 as a consequence of a knee damage, it was anticipated that Toney could be considered one of Patrick Mahomes’ favourite targets.
As an alternative, he put collectively a discouraging efficiency and performed an enormous hand in Kansas Metropolis’s 21-20 loss.
Toney was capable of make only one catch for one yard through the contest and made quite a few errors. His most egregious one got here on a superbly thrown move from Mahomes that he let look off his palms.
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Lions defensive again Brian Department caught it off the deflection and returned it for what was then a game-tying pick-six.
BRIAN BRANCH PICK-SIX IN HIS FIRST NFL GAME
📺: #Kickoff2023 on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/EBLJ3Rwf5g pic.twitter.com/RzuewZE45n— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2023
Proper place, proper time @BrianBB_1
📺: #Kickoff2023 on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/EBLJ3Rwf5g pic.twitter.com/sKFiV2epWA— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2023
Later, Toney was unable to provide you with a third-and-short reception on what gave the impression to be a easy mesh idea.
Kadarius Toney dropped the ball for a pick-6 earlier and now drops a 1st down move on third down.pic.twitter.com/7jRxJdNEDDhttps://t.co/jw0OLRpXSa
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 8, 2023
Granted, Richie James flashed in entrance of Toney earlier than the ball arrived which affected his capacity to see it, however his drop nonetheless price the Chiefs an opportunity for a primary down. They in the end needed to accept a discipline purpose as a substitute of getting a recent set of downs within the crimson zone.
That proved expensive within the one-point defeat.
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Even regardless of Toney’s lowlights, Mahomes instructed reporters in his postgame information convention that he nonetheless has plenty of religion within the fourth-year wide-out.
“I’ve belief in KT,” Mahomes stated. “He missed plenty of coaching camp. Clearly, he needed to play and fought rehab laborious so he may play. Stuff’s not all the time gonna go your method. He would have needed to catch a number of of these within the sport.”
“I belief that he is gonna be the man that I am going to in these essential moments and he is gonna make the catch and win us some [games] like he did final 12 months,” Mahomes added. “So, we’re gonna proceed to work him in, get him extra reps and I am certain these drops will disappear.”
In fact, Toney wasn’t alone in his struggles through the night. Many of the group’s wide-outs endured their share of points, particularly within the second half. Mahomes went simply 2 of 12 when concentrating on extensive receivers after the halftime break, and a number of other different gamers incurred drops through the contest.
Patrick Mahomes was 2/12 with Zero TD and 1 INT when concentrating on extensive receivers within the second half vs. the Lions 😳
• To Toney: 0/4, INT
• To Moore: 0/3
• To Watson: 0/2
• To Rice: 0/1
• To James: 1/1
• To Ross: 1/1 pic.twitter.com/JK3H3Ar97B— The Sporting Information (@sportingnews) September 8, 2023
Even so, Chiefs coach Andy Reid did not appear too nervous about that turning into a pattern for the group.
“It’s uncommon for us to drop that many passes. Anyplace, any time,” he instructed reporters. “So we’ll return and work on that, however it’s a must to care for enterprise and these guys know that, and so we’ve acquired to repair that.”
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Mahomes echoed an identical sentiment when requested how he tries to maintain his receivers assured when errors pile up.
“I feel they know that I am gonna maintain firing it,” he stated. “So, we’ll attempt to get it mounted this subsequent week and proper it going into the subsequent sport.”
