Chiefs' Reid owns costly 4th-down mistake vs. Texans: 'I messed that one up'
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid shouldered the blame for Sunday's 20-10 loss to the Houston Texans after making a critical fourth-quarter decision.
With the Chiefs on their own 31-yard line and the score tied at 10, Reid opted to keep his offense on the field on fourth-and-1 with 10 minutes remaining.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes lined up in a shotgun formation, with receiver Marquise Brown beside him in the backfield. The Chiefs failed to convert the first down after Mahomes' pass to Rashee Rice fell incomplete. The Texans took advantage of the short field, scoring a touchdown on a run by Dare Ogunbowale to go up 17-10.
Reid later lamented his decision to go for it on fourth down in Chiefs' territory.
"I put the guys, offensively, in a tough position with the fourth downs (calls)," Reid said postgame, according to ESPN's Nate Taylor. "I was trying to stay aggressive with it. I take full responsibility for that. I thought we could get it. It's important that you take advantage of opportunities. In hindsight, it was wrong. I messed that one up."
Entering Sunday, the Chiefs led the NFL in fourth-down conversion rate (80.8%), succeeding on 21 of their 26 attempts.
It marked the first time in Reid's illustrious career that his offense attempted to convert a fourth down with the score tied in the fourth quarter or overtime inside its own 40-yard line.
The Chiefs' offense looked out of sync throughout the evening. Travis Kelce, Kareem Hunt, and Rice all contributed to the five dropped passes over the course of the game. Mahomes finished with 141 passing yards, a career-low 42.4% completion rate, and three interceptions.
The Chiefs' (6-7) run of nine consecutive AFC West titles came to an end with the loss. Kansas City is facing long odds to earn a playoff seed, likely needing to win its final four games combined with multiple losses by the Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts. Despite losing four of their last five outings, Reid remains optimistic the Chiefs can make it into the postseason.
"Listen, it's never over, so you keep battling," Reid said. "I've been doing this a long time. I've seen some things, so you keep going."