KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Andy Reid’s health dominated the beginning of the week for the Kansas City Chiefs after he left Arrowhead Stadium in an ambulance following a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday, but his chance to make history may dominate the end of the week.
Reid, who is in his ninth season as the Chiefs’ head coach, was released from the hospital Monday and returned to work Tuesday.
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He didn’t take part in the postgame press conference Sunday or his usual Monday press conference, but during remarks to reporters Wednesday, Reid said the team was going about its “business as usual,” adding that he “feels great” and that it was “good to be back.”
With a win Sunday at the Philadelphia Eagles, where he coached from 1999-2012, Reid can become the first NFL coach to win 100 games with two different franchises. He finished 140-102-1 with the Eagles and currently is 99-45 with the Chiefs, including postseason results.
Kansas City (1-2) finds itself in an unusual position — below .500 for the first time since Patrick Mahomes took over at quarterback and the first time since 2015.
The last time the Chiefs went into a game with a losing record was Nov. 22, 2015, which was early during an 11-game win streak to close the season and included the team’s first playoff win in 22 years at Houston two months later.
Fans are struggling to accept seeing Kansas City, which has played in three straight AFC Championship Games and two straight Super Bowls, alone in last place in the AFC West.
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But the Chiefs insist the league hasn’t “caught up” with the team’s offense.
Mahomes promised “championship swagger” as Kansas City seeks to bounce back from two consecutive losses on Sunday in Philadelphia.
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Hoping to spark the offense, the Chiefs signed embattled former All-Pro wide receiver Josh Gordon to the practice squad this week.
It may take several weeks for Gordon to learn the offense before he’s in a position to contribute, but Kansas City hopes he can solve the need for a No. 2 wide receiver opposite Tyreek Hill.
Regardless of Gordon’s status, if the Chiefs don’t solve the turnover issues — six in the last six quarters during losses at Baltimore and to the Chargers — and fix a leaky defense, which remains especially vulnerable in the red zone, winning another division title will prove to be a tall task.
Kansas City remains an elite offense in terms of points per drive, ranking second in the NFL at more than three points per possession despite the rash of turnovers.
The bigger issue is that the Chiefs’ defense is allowing an NFL-worst 3.23 points per opponents’ drive, an NFL-worst 31.7 points per game and an NFL-worst 7.0 yards per play.
Only three teams — Seattle, Washington and Jacksonville, who all also have losing records — have allowed more than Kansas City’s 13 red-zone trips to opposing offenses, and no team has given up more than the Chiefs’ 12 red-zone touchdowns.
Here’s the tale of the tape for Sunday’s game.
Kansas City Chiefs (1-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (1-2)
Series record (last meeting): Tied 4-4 (Sept. 17, 2017 — Chiefs 27-20 in Kansas City)
When (TV/radio): 12 p.m. (CBS/106.5-FM The Wolf)
TV commentators: Ian Eagles, Charles Davis and Evan Washburn
Spanish-language radio: KPRS-103.3 HD2
| Offense | Chiefs | Eagles |
| Scoring avg. | 30.7 (5) | 21.3 (23) |
| Scoring % | 50.0 (3) | 28.1 (26) |
| Points/drive | 3.07 (2) | 1.72 (25) |
| Total offense | 413.0 (6) | 367.3 (16) |
| Yards per play | 6.7 (4) | 6.5 (6) |
| Passing yards/game | 306.0 (5) | 247.0 (15) |
| Completion % | 70.3 (8) | 65.3 (20) |
| QB rating | 111.7 (6) | 98.2 (17) |
| Passing yards/attempt | 8.5 (8) | 8.0 (12) |
| TD-Interception ratio | 9-3 (3) | 5-2 (15) |
| Rushing yards/game | 107.0 (13) | 129.3 (5) |
| Rushing yards/carry | 4.5 (9) | 5.4 (2) |
| Rushing TD | 2 (16) | 2 (16) |
| Third-down % | 55.2 (1) | 40.5 (17) |
| Red-zone TD % | 70.0 (12) | 85.7 (5) |
| Turnover ratio | -2 (24) | -1 (20) |
| Defense | ||
| Scoring avg. | 31.7 (32) | 21.3 (10) |
| Scoring % | 50.0 (29) | 31.3 (8) |
| Points/drive | 3.23 (32) | 1.81 (8) |
| Total defense | 430.0 (30) | 315.3 (7) |
| Yards allowed per play | 7.0 (32) | 4.7 (7) |
| Passing yards/game | 269.7 (24) | 181.7 (5) |
| Completion % | 70.7 (26) | 70.3 (24) |
| QB rating | 103.6 (21) | 102.4 (19) |
| Passing yards/attempt | 9.1 (29) | 6.5 (7) |
| TD-Interception ratio | 5-3 (14) | 4-0 (12) |
| Rushing yards/game | 160.3 (31) | 133.7 (26) |
| Rushing yards/carry | 5.4 (30) | 3.8 (11) |
| Rushing TD | 7 (32) | 3 (18) |
| Third-down % | 41.4 (20) | 37.5 (12) |
| Red-zone TD % | 92.3 (29) | 66.7 (19) |
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Want more insight about the Kansas City Chiefs? The “4th & 1” podcast is the twice-weekly, Chiefs-centric podcast from KSHB 41 News, the official broadcast “Home of the Chiefs.” Analyst Nick Jacobs and host Tod Palmer analyze and breakdown the Chiefs’ opponent and performance for pre- and post-game episodes — available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or your preferred podcast platform — each week during the season.
