Kansas City Chiefs fans haven't had to deal with losing a game in nearly a year, as their last loss came on Christmas Day to the Raiders. Well, the Buffalo Bills handed them their first loss of the 2024 season, dropping them to 9-1 and now putting more pressure on them to secure that number one overall seed with the Bills and Steelers breathing down their neck.
While the Chiefs had some good moments in the game, most fans will focus on the negatives, as people often do with losses. One of the biggest talking points will likely be rookie Xavier Worthy failing to secure a pass in bounds that would have set the Chiefs up in the red zone in the second quarter.
After K.C. leaned heavily on the rookie on the previous drive that resulted in a Worthy touchdown, Patrick Mahomes went right back to him. Mahomes launched a deep ball down the field that, if caught, would have immediately put K.C. in Buffalo territory. Instead, Worthy failed to drag his left foot after securing the ball and landed on his left foot out of bounds. The Chiefs then proceeded to go three-and-out.
Chiefs fans might not have been happy with Worthy after the play considering his struggles with staying in bounds this year. Mahomes wasn't hearing any of that following the game, however, and defended his rookie wide receiver, noting that he needed to throw the ball in bounds.
"If I throw it in bounds it's going to be a walk-in touchdown. I just have to be better there," Mahomes said following the nine-point loss and K.C's first defeat since Christmas Day of last year.
Patrick Mahomes shoulders the blame for out of bounds throw
Teams lose games, it happens. This is still a good football team and by no means should fans be panicking. That being said, Chiefs fans aren't used to losing and this loss will surely sting. While this play hurt in the moment, there were plenty of other things that happened in the 30-21 defeat that led to the Chiefs' demise.
For instance, Mahomes threw two interceptions, the defense surrendered 30 points (the first time they've done so since Super Bowl LVII against the Eagles), the secondary struggled to contain the Bills playmakers, and suspect play-calling on offense. It wasn't all on Worthy for forgetting to drag his left foot.
No one is surprised to see Mahomes stick up for his guy and hopefully, the next time he attempts this pass to his rookie wide receiver, they both make it count.