Days after Kadarius Toney’s offensive offside penalty cost the Kansas City Chiefs a potential win against the Buffalo Bills, the wide receiver said he never got a warning from the official that he wasn’t set.
“No. They didn’t. They said they gave me a warning, but I never talked to the umpire,” Toney said this week, via KSHB 41 in Kansas City. “Full spectrum, we’re moving forward.”
Toney never seemed to discuss anything with the umpire or signal asking if he was being put down before his touchdown that would have given the Chiefs the lead with 1:25 left. The five-yard penalty led to three straight incomplete passes by Patrick Mahomes as the Bills held on to win, 20-17.
Toney made plenty of mistakes in his three-year career with the Chiefs and New York Giants, yet Mahomes didn’t publicly call him out. Instead, he defended the wide receiver. That’s been the Chiefs philosophy since Andy Reid arrived.
“Just be you. That’s all you can do in life or in this league,” Mahomes said via a team transcript. “You’re going to make mistakes; things are going to happen in your life. How do you take that adversity and move past it and do it right? Coach Reid preaches that and that’s how I roll. If you make one mistake. , that’s not going to define you, it’s going to be how you respond to the error.”
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Toney’s blunder has been an ongoing problem with Chiefs wide receivers this season, specifically with the drops. The Chiefs’ wideouts lead the NFL with 21 drops and the team leads the entire NFL with 34. The wide receiver play also affected Travis kelce, who has not scored a touchdown in six games and is averaging a career-low 11.2 yards per catch.
“All the receivers know I believe in them. That’s how I roll, if you’re in this locker room and I see how you work, I’m going to trust you in big moments and I’m going to give you opportunities to go out there and make plays,” Mahomes said. “For all I know, their mindset seems like it’s in a good place and they want to go there and keep getting better.
“I can see how hard they’re working here, and I feel like if we can keep pushing and grinding that we’ll end up on the other side of it as the season goes on.”
