KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In his last two games at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Marquez Valdes-Scantling experienced the thrill of diving into the end zone for a 46-yard touchdown in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers along with the disappointment of dropping a potential touchdown catch that could have lifted the Chiefs Monday Night over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Win or lose, Valdes-Scantling tries to maintain the same demeanor.
“Never get too high, never get too low,” Valdes-Scantling said after the team’s practice on Thanksgiving Day. “I’ve won games before and I’ve lost games before you know, so, you know, I’ve been in that position to make the play, I’ve been in position to not make the plays, so it’s on to the next week.”
Thursday’s comments were the first from Valdes-Scantling since Monday night’s game in which he dropped a long pass from Patrick Mahomes. The receiver did post a message on social media Tuesday morning.
“I’m grateful, I’ll be better,” Valdes-Scantling wrote. “And I appreciate the criticism and the support. God put this on me because he knew I could handle it. Gratitude for everything that comes with it.”
He reiterated that comment Thursday when asked if he felt it was important to deliver a message to fans following the loss.
“Not important at all, man,” he said. “That was for me, that wasn’t for the fans. I play this game for my family, I play this game for my teammates. I love the fans, and I’m grateful for the support and the criticism. But you know, we don’t play this game for the fans. We appreciate the support but we play this game for the Kansas City Chiefs.”
Valdes-Scantling said that for him, “it’s on to the next moment” after the loss to the Eagles. That means preparing for this Sunday’s game at the Las Vegas Raiders and putting Monday night in the past.
“It’s a beautiful game where no matter what you’ll never be perfect,” he said. “We all strive to be perfect, you know, and obviously, we want to make every play that we can, especially in those moments like that. But you know, it is what it is and we move on to the next week. And luckily, there is 17 games and, you know, it wasn’t the last game of the season.”
