No one at Arrowhead Stadium is denying the gravity of the present situation facing the Kansas City Chiefs. With a 5-5 record following a frustratingly sloppy loss to the Denver Broncos in a very important divisional game, the entire team left Mile High frustrated with their overall performance following a bye week.
That said, the Chiefs are still confident.
For most teams, the idea of maintaining a positive outlook in the face of a .500 record would be maddening for the fan base. And for some in Chiefs Kingdom, it is. But the Chiefs' track record of sustained success makes them an outlier to the panic level that typically comes for any franchise sitting outside of playoff contention this late in the season.
Andy Reid spoke to Chiefs reporters about the confidence he still has in the team to get the job done.
“We’re not quite as negative as the outside world is," said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid in his remarks to reporters on Monday. Reid appealed to the team's deep postseason experience of having played in five of the last six Super Bowls as a primary reason to believe they can turn things around again.
"We know what we need to clean up, and we need to do it, but the guys, they get it," said Reid. "Some of these guys have been through some pretty good seasons, and this isn’t like this one is lost. So we’ve just gotta clean up a few of these things, and the urgency level, obviously we’ve gotta make sure we take care of that now.”
In previous seasons, Reid has reinforced a mentality to stay in the present moment for his players. That matters more than ever when the concerns and questions from those outside the organization are so loud. But Reid insists he's telling his players to simply focus on the things in their control.
“I mentioned that to them after the game. ‘What can you do? You can get yourself ready to play Indianapolis. That’s what you can do. Everything else involves a crystal ball. You can take care of today, tomorrow, and the following day. Let’s start there.’”
Reid is right. The only thing that matters is the very next game, and that means turning the attention to a tougher-than-expected matchup against the Colts in Week 12. If the Chiefs lose that one, the tenor of the conversation will be much different. Until then, Reid is still a believer even after such a disheartening loss to the Broncos.