Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
The Kansas City Chiefs’ magical run through the 2013 season is over.
It was a season full of ups (think nine-game winning streak) and downs (think losing six of the last eight games including the playoffs).
We saw good, we saw bad and ultimately we were entertained. The Chiefs provided Kansas City with a huge spark and the future of the organization is brilliantly bright. Unfortunately though, 2013 had to end on a pretty tough note. Despite being up 28 points in the beginning of the third quarter, Kansas City fell apart and lost to the Indianapolis Colts by one, 44-45.
“Not much to say, compliments to the Colts for coming back,” head coach Andy Reid said after the game. “They did a nice job, 35 points in the second half. We started kicking field goals and they started scoring touchdowns, but they deserve the win for the way they played.”
“I’m proud of my guys for the season. We’ve got to work through the offseason to get ourselves better, so we can do better job against a team like this, right here.”
Kansas City finished the season with an 11-5 record and will finish with a 11-6 overall record. The Chiefs weren’t hot coming into the playoffs, but they certainly seemed like a team that could cause some damage with the right matchups.
The play of quarterback Alex Smith improved drastically during the second half of the season, and that continued into the playoff game. Despite losing star running back Jamaal Charles early to a concussion, Smith threw for 378 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
“Listen, Alex, I thought, did a good job rolling guys around and the guys playing, they played,” Reid said of Smith and the offense. “They didn’t really flinch at that part of it. Jamaal’s (Charles) a great player and that can, you can use that as an excuse, but the guys never did that. I mean that’s just how they approach it. I’m proud of them for that.”
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Still, despite the fact that Smith played lights out and the offense put up 44 points, the team struggled in the second half.
“We had, the turnovers get you, the field position, and then you got, there’s a point you’ve got to stop the bleeding either offensively or defensively,” Reid explained of the second half woes. “Our defense came back with a turnover and we ended up kicking a field goal instead of punching it in for a touchdown, which would’ve helped. We need to do a better job in the second half in all three phases, coaches included.”
How does Reid process the loss?
“You go through it and you evaluate it; you learn from it and it’s final, because it’s the end of the year,” he said. “Then, you go back to the drawing board and fix it; that’s what you do. You don’t hang your head on it, you try to become a better football team and we’re just going to have to wait until next year to do that.”