Reid: Chiefs have room for improvement after Week 1 victory – News-Press Now

“There were some good things, there were plenty of things we need to work on and get better, obviously,” Reid said. “So, we’ll keep working on that as we go forward.”

The Chiefs needed a second-half comeback to overcome a 12-point halftime deficit, but they did so, outscoring the Browns 23-7 in the final 30 minutes.

A big reason for the game going how it did, both in the first and the second half, was because of the Chiefs’ defense.

First, the unit entered the game without three starters in safety Tyrann Mathieu, defensive end Frank Clark and linebacker Willie Gay. Clark and Gay were out with injuries, while Mathieu wasn’t fit to play having just been activated off the COVID-19 list Saturday.

With Clark’s hamstring injury, Reid said he didn’t believe the D-lineman was ready to get back in a game quite yet.

“He pushed himself this week and I just didn’t feel like it was quite all the way back with him,” Reid said. “It’s not lack of effort or want to play or any of that stuff, it’s just a decision I have to make sitting in this chair along with the medical people who feed me the information and Frank communicating with us, and I just thought that was the best way to go.”

And with Mathieu activated off the COVID list, Reid expects him to be back in practice fully this week.

“That was a decision I had to make and that was more off of the conditioning part and just not putting him in a bad position,” Reid said.

Another reason for victory was the play of the Chiefs’ three offensive stars, Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce down the stretch. Mahomes hit Hill for one touchdown and Kelce for two in the second half, as the Chiefs mounted their comeback.

While Mahomes leaned on his two top teammates, Reid said there’s no concern that more people weren’t involved.

“I think Pat probably answered it the best last night that there were some guys there that he knows fit into the route and can utilize but just made the choice to go to the other guy,” Reid said. “We’ve got enough flexibility with the tight ends and the other receivers to mix things up a little bit too there.”

The last contributing factor to Sunday’s win was the crowd at Arrowhead Stadium. Seeing their first full capacity crowd since the 2019 season, Reid said the Chiefs fans played a role in disrupting the Browns’ momentum in the second half.

“Nobody left and everybody stayed, and they were loud and that definitely helped,” Reid said. “Like I mentioned last night, my hat goes off to them. They’re the best in the NFL. It’s great to be a part of.”

Now the Chiefs look ahead to next Sunday, when they will hit the road to face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football.

The game will bring more than the opportunity to see two of the league’s best signal-callers go head-to-head, in Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. It’s a chance for Andy Reid to become the first coach in league history to win 100 games with two separate franchises.