KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NFL enters a fourth week of regular season action.
Observers of Monday night’s game, however, wouldn’t know if they watched the Chiefs’ preseason-like performance, an effort that resulted in the Chiefs dropping to 1-2 after falling 38-28 to the Green Bay Packers.
Sept. 28, 2015; Green Bay, WI; Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on the sidelines against the Packers at Lambeau Field. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)
The fallout from the game carried into Tuesday.
“I’ve got to do a better job, particularly with 10 days to get my team ready to play,” coach Andy Reid said Tuesday during a media conference call. “That didn’t take place, way too many mistakes and that starts with me.”
The Chiefs were brutally flat to start the game despite the extra time to prepare from Week 2 and quickly fell behind 24-7 at halftime.
Quarterback Alex Smith completed 2 of 7 passes for 39 yards and a 50.3 passer rating in the first half. In a blink of an eye, the Packers produced 304 total yards of offense to the Chiefs’ 94 yards through the first two quarters.
Smith’s ineffectiveness came through during third-and-long situations, where he often threw short of the first-down markers.
Reid quickly came to his quarterback’s defense.
“Alex is doing fine, that’s my decision,” Reid said. “That’s not Alex.”
Green Bay’s lead ballooned to 31-7 in the third quarter before the Chiefs woke up and attempted a comeback against a softened Packers defense.
The end result, however, was never in doubt despite the Chiefs padding individual and game statistics late in the contest.
Some of the problems of Week 2 carried into Week 3, and the Chiefs went 2 of 10 on third down, committed seven penalties and Smith threw an interception, giving him three on the season.
The Chiefs are now 5 of 30 on third-down conversion (16.7 percent) through three games to rank last in the league in the category.
But Reid believes the Chiefs can effectively address the lingering issues before Week 4’s game against the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals (3-0).
“I’m going to make sure we get this thing fixed,” Reid said. “We have a short week and we’re well into Cincinnati right now. I tell you it’s that fast, it’s that fast. That’s where I’m at right now.”
Reid placed confidence in the team’s chemistry and veteran leadership so as not to allow the latest disappointment fester in the locker room
“I have full confidence in the veteran leaders of this team,” Reid said. “So, like I said, we’ve all got to do our job and that starts with me, that’s what’s real, that’s the important thing. We’ve got very good leadership on this team.”
And with that, the Chiefs prefer to put Monday night’s loss in the rearview mirror.
The team’s focus now shifts to getting back on the winning track.
“We can talk about it all we want to talk about it, but you’ve got to do it and that’s what’s real,” Reid said. “And so that’s why I’m not much into talking about that. I’m more into talking about getting on to Cincinnati and let’s get things rolling.”
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Herbie Teope is the lead Chiefs beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com and The Topeka Capital-Journal. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @HerbieTeope.
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