The Chiefs were on the receiving end of a 43-14 beating from the Steelers on Sunday, but the team isn’t making too much of a bad night at the office.
Veteran linebacker Derrick Johnson said that the Chiefs will “learn a lot about our team’s character” by the way they respond to getting thumped and quarterback Alex Smith said it wasn’t something that can be allowed to linger through the team’s bye week. Coach Andy Reid echoed that sentiment while focusing on all that’s still ahead for the Chiefs.
“We’re 2-2,” Reid said, via the team’s website. “It’s not the end of the world, even though it feels that way. That’s how things are in the National Football League. We’ve got a week to step back, analyze and fix some of these issues.”
Beyond looking at the way the Steelers went from losing 34-3 to the Eagles in Week Three to blowing out the Chiefs, there’s other history to support Reid’s view. The Chiefs ransacked the Patriots 41-14 in Week Four of the 2014 season, but went on to miss the playoffs while New England won the Super Bowl and 31 of the 72 playoff teams over the last six seasons had losses of 25 or more points during the regular season.
The 2015 Chiefs never lost by that wide a margin, but they did start 1-5 before winning their final 10 regular season games and advancing to the postseason. That leaves ample reason to avoid panic in Kansas City even if there’s work to do to improve the on-field product.