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The Chiefs Needed Freddie Mitchell for 4th and 25
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Lions 21, Chiefs 20. Great game to open the NFL regular season.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 226, a couple of touchdowns, and an interception that wasn’t his fault, but the Travis Kelce-less Chiefs receiving corps looked more like what Andy Reid had in 2002. The Bad News Bears.
The skill guys finished as such:
- Marquez Valdez-Scantling: 2 receptions for 48 yards
- Justin Watson: 2 receptions for 45 yards
- Noah Gray: 3 receptions for 31 yards
- Rashee Rice: 3 receptions for 29 yards and a touchdown
- Isiah Pacheco: 4 receptions for 31 yards
- Kadarius Toney: 1 catch for 1 yard on five targets
- Skyy Moore: 0 catches for 0 yards on three targets
- Blake Bell: 2 for 12 and a touchdown
- then a bunch of random dudes with one grab for minimal yardage
It was bad. It triggered memories of the Todd Pinkston and James Thrash days, and Andy really could have benefited from the presence of Freddie Mitchell and his hands when he went for it on 4th and 25 in the fourth quarter:
On that 4th and 25 attempt by the #Chiefs, Sky Moore honestly had a chance to catch this…
Mahomes gotta be sick. 6-8 drops tonight.
pic.twitter.com/Gy6hVexAgd— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 8, 2023
Good call? Bad call?
The Chiefs had the ball near their own 30 with all three timeouts remaining and 2:09 on the clock. They could have punted there and tried to angle the ball out of play to get the two-minute warning to hit, then could have burned the timeouts and tried to get a stop. That would have given them another shot with Mahomes and Harrison Butker on a game-winning field goal. Of course, “get a stop” is doing a lot of work in that last sentence, because the Chiefs D had just gotten a stop on the last Detroit possession, and the O did nothing with it. A drop, a holding penalty, and then Mahomes trying to pull a miracle on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th and long.
Nice to have football back though. Entertaining game.
January 11, 2004: 4th and 26.
Donovan McNabb finds Freddie Mitchell (@FMitchell84) down the middle for the 1st down. The Eagles would force OT and win 20-17.
pic.twitter.com/FWTkGifohq— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) January 12, 2023
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com