The Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff hopes are now officially up in the air after tonight’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. They have now lost three of their last four and are sitting below .500. In fact, one of Patrick Mahomes‘ best games of the season was just wasted, and the person to blame is the one who is supposed to be his biggest asset: Head Coach Andy Reid, who stepped up to give his verdict.

The offense couldn’t get it going tonight, as they punted on four straight possessions. Reporter Sam McDowell asked Andy Reid about some of those decisions, and Reid admitted that he felt positive about the field position.

“Put that on me,” the head coach said.

Andy Reid is always quick to take the blame after a loss, and tonight followed the same pattern. Whether he deserves all of it is another question, but punting that often in a one-score game didn’t help anyone.

The most glaring moment came with the Kansas City Chiefs down three in the third quarter. Facing a fourth-and-4 at the Dallas 44, Reid chose to punt. According to analyst Ben Baldwin’s fourth-down model, that single decision knocked the Chiefs’ win probability from 52 percent down to 45 percent.

What happened afterward only made that call harder to defend. Dallas went field goal, touchdown, field goal on its next three series, pushing the game out of reach while the Chiefs kept chasing from behind.

As for the postseason picture, no, the Chiefs aren’t done yet. But they’re now two games back of Buffalo, Los Angeles, and Jacksonville in the AFC wild-card race, and the margin for error is just about gone. The frustrating part is that they wasted one of Patrick Mahomes’ best outings of the season.

Patrick Mahomes’ heroics were not enough

Andy Reid summed up Patrick Mahomes’ night better than anyone else could.

“He battled his tail off,” the head coach said. “It’s hard to look at when you lose a game. But he battled.”

And that’s exactly what it looked like. Mahomes was sharp from the start, finishing 23-of-34 for 261 yards and four touchdowns. Rashee Rice turned into his go-to guy, piling up 92 yards and two scores on eight grabs. Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce chipped in 106 yards combined, with Kelce pulling down yet another red-zone touchdown.

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Mahomes almost dragged Kansas City all the way back. His touchdown to Hollywood Brown set up a late push, and a fourth scoring throw cut the Dallas lead to 31-28. But Dak Prescott answered with a calm, methodical closeout drive, stacking first downs and forcing Kansas City to burn every timeout. Once Dallas crossed midfield, the outcome felt settled.

Still, it’s hard to ignore what this loss says about the Chiefs. When your quarterback throws four touchdowns, and you still can’t walk out with a win, something deeper is off. Mahomes wasn’t himself last week, and neither was the rest of the roster. This week was different. He gave them a game good enough to win. The Chiefs just didn’t hold up their end.

And that’s where the concern grows. A loss like this might end up being the one they look back on if they miss the postseason. It won’t get any easier. The Texans’ defense is waiting next Sunday. Banking on Kansas City’s defense to steal the game is a risky bet right now, especially with the issues they’ve had getting stops in critical moments.

Andy Reid has a lot to sort out, quickly. If they drop next week’s game in Houston, the Chiefs’ season might effectively shut down right there.