Thursday went off-script for the Kansas City Chiefs. Fans packed into Arrowhead Stadium watched the Super Bowl banner reveal, felt the flyover, and all felt right in the world again. It all ended quicker than a Clyde Edwards-Helaire rush, though, as the season started even worse than the 0-1 record shows.
Chiefs fans, as a whole, are fairly reasonable. The night did not go as planned, but it was just one game with 16 more to go. Plus, Travis Kelce's injury and Chris Jones' holdout left the team without two top-10 players in the league. Both will return to the field eventually, hopefully ahead of Week 2's matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Plus, the Detroit Lions are a good football team, as evident by their performance to close out the 2022 season.
This loss feels more about the Chiefs' issues than Detroit overpowering Kansas City. Those issues make this loss a bitter pill to swallow.
Kansas City has an extended time to address the problems. More time for players to heal, hopefully, negotiate with Jones' stooges, and for these receivers to get some reps on the Jugs machine. This was a frustrating loss and not the foot this team wanted to start on. Nonetheless, when the football that mattered started again, the Chiefs came out on the losing end. that is impossible to ignore.