All Kansas City Chiefs fans heard following Sunday's loss was about the referees. Social media, radio shows, and every medium possible painted a picture that the Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills solely because of the refs. Anyone who has followed football for years knows that is a loser's argument, yet that is the one quarterback Patrick Mahomes had post-game.
“Another game we’re talking about the refs,” Mahomes, who had an expletive-riddled meltdown on the Chiefs sidelines, said. “It’s not what we want for the NFL. It’s not what we want for football. Let us play the game. Then whatever happens happens.”
Toney was offsides. The referees threw a flag. End of story. If the inverse happened and Bills receiver Stefon Diggs was noticeably offsides, Chiefs Kingdom would have a fit. Think about it for a second.
The margin for error was so small Sunday primarily because of the players on the field, not what the Chiefs coaches and players are vocally focusing on. Do you want your players that deserve the blame? Here are four who deserve to be called out.
Derrick Nnadi
Derrick Nnadi was an easy defensive player to pick on over the past three seasons. The former third-round pick has been in Kansas City for six years now and has not done much outside pile-up snaps and starts. He had a few decent games this season, but PFF has him graded as the worst-qualified defensive tackle in the league. His performance Sunday only reinforced that further.
The Bills offensive line handled Nnadi and every other Chiefs defensive tackle not named Chris Jones with relative ease. Buffalo running back James Cook averaged 5.8 yards per carry, and the team would likely have had more than 118 yards on the ground if they stuck with it in the second half. Alas, they did not and the defensive line's woes were forgotten as the game progressed.
Nnadi, for all the playing experience and opportunity he receives, was the weakest part of Kansas City's defensive interior Sunday. His errors will not show up on the stat sheet, but go back and watch the game. His coming on the field late for Tershawn Wharton made Kansas City burn a timeout. He missed the tackle on Josh Allen's touchdown run as well.
Chiefs fans have been saying it for years. Nnadi needs to go. These are his prime playing years, and he is still being blocked deep downfield, missing tackles, and not being impactful. Sunday was a rough game for Nnadi, a common occurrence this season.