“They were arrogant” - NFL HOFer blames Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes for Chiefs second-half collapse vs. Bengals
Were the Chiefs a bit too cocky Sunday in their 27-24 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals?
According to NFL Hall of Famer Chris Carter, they were and he blamed the loss on quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid.
The Chiefs led by a score of 21-10 at halftime. The last play of the first half was one that may have seemingly given Cincinnati confidence going into the third quarter.
With five seconds remaining in the second quarter and from the Bengals' one-yard line, Kansas City opted for a swing pass to Tyreek Hill, who was unable to get into the endzone.
After being tackled, there was no more time left on the clock and Kansas City failed to add points to their lead.
Carter was on NFL Network's Good Morning Football and criticized the Chiefs for being arrogant and disregarding the basics of football:
“There are a couple of instances where they were arrogant in disregard for the basics in football. Right before halftime, not taking advantage of that field position and getting those three points, which would’ve put the game out of reach. And the last drive of the game, when they give the ball to McKinnon the first down, and then they decided what they were doing on second and third down. So it looked like they didn't have a plan to be able to win the game. And to me, I questioned Andy Reid, I've seen Andy Read in a lot of these situations, not only in Kansas City, but what he's been in Philadelphia, where they weren't able to get a Super Bowl. So lack of a concise plan. The arrogance of ‘We've been here before,’ I understand. And Patrick Mahomes went right back to where he was early October, where they were playing a lot of zone defenses and he was trying to force the ball down the field."
Carter reiterated that Mahomes went back to October, when the former NFL MVP struggled consistently against zone coverage. He also mentioned that Andy Reid has previously been known to struggle in certain situations dating back to his time as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Carter continued:
"He admitted in the press conference that he passed up some shorter stuff to be abnle to take some riskier stuff down the field. So you don't expect that out of him. He is the number one quarterback that we have, and his decision-making in the AFC Championship was some of the bad decision-making that we saw earlier in the season that we throw thought was gone.”
Carter did not mince words when it came to how the Chiefs played and how they lost that game. The former All-Pro receiver speaks from experience about how great teams can blow chances to go to the Super Bowl.
"I can believe they (Bengals) won. I can't believe how they won... What's that saying? If it bleeds it leads?
Well, the #Chiefs are bleeding like a stuck pig."
-- @KyleBrandt on the #Chiefs blowing an 18 point lead vs the @Bengals in the #AFC Championship https://t.co/1Kku7IMBh8
Chris Carter can relate to the Chiefs losing in a championship game upset
Those were unflattering words from the Hall of Famer, but Carter knows of what he says.
He played for the 1998 Minnesota Vikings team who had the chance to go to the Super Bowl, but were upset by the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game by blowing a huge lead.
That particular loss likely haunts Carter to this day, and this blown opportunity by the Kansas City Chiefs may haunt them for awhile as well.
Only time will tell if this is something that will affect the team down the road.
What a matchup for #SBLVI
#RuleTheJungle | #RamsHouse https://t.co/mSWN46eCKw
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals will take on the Los Angeles Rams on February 13 for the Lombardi Trophy.