After a 0-2 start back in 2014, which was three years before quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ arrival, the Kansas City Chiefs face a similar slump again. While this raises eyebrows, there’s still faith in the AFC juggernaut’s ultimate weapon, head coach Andy Reid.

Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger remained unwavering in his opinion of the Chiefs. And that line of faith is connected to Reid. In the latest episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, Big Ben answered a few questions about a few teams and the AFC West and their chances to win this season. The segment was called Contenders and Pretenders.

When asked about the Chiefs, the hesitation reflected the team’s record. But there’s more than this. “Because of who they have, it’s early,” Ben said.

“I can’t call him a pretender yet just because I feel it’s disrespectful for who I think is one of the best coaches in the industry, who’s ever done it, Andy Reid, and then obviously Patrick, who’s going to go down as one of the best quarterbacks. So, I’m going to I’m going to keep them at a contender,” he explained during the show.

Now, this episode was seemingly filmed before the Chiefs’ matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. While it’s unlikely that Roethlisberger would change his stance after the Chiefs’ disappointing 28 – 31 defeat, his point still stands. Coach Reid has the power to turn things around.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes put together a strong all-around performance, throwing for 318 yards with one touchdown and one interception while also leading the team in rushing with 60 yards and a score.

Kansas City stormed out to a 14-0 lead after forcing a goal-line fumble by Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and driving 97 yards for a touchdown. But momentum quickly shifted. Costly penalties mounted, the defense lost its grip on Lawrence, and a stunning 99-yard pick-six by Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd flipped the game on its head.

The loss marked the Chiefs’ first defeat after leading by 14 or more points since Week 17 of 2021 against Cincinnati, snapping a 22-game streak, the second-longest active run in the league behind Detroit’s 26.

The Chiefs did have the upper hand in the game, outperforming Jacksonville in yards and first downs, but the penalties were costly. “We had 13 penalties to their 4,” head coach Reid pointed out. Placekicker Harrison Butker was flagged for a kickoff out of bounds, while cornerback Chamarri Conner was flagged for pass interference in the end zone.

“Whether I agree with them or don’t agree with them, it doesn’t matter,” Reid said of the penalties. “They called them. So, you have that many penalties, you give up field position, you can out-stat them to death, but that doesn’t matter. It’s the score that matters.”

Ironically, being called the favorites and even accused of escaping the calls, the Chiefs have one of the most penalized teams. Mistakes such as Mahomes’ interception to linebacker Devin Lloyd were tough on the team.

The Chiefs clearly have yet to show their best, and there were clearly issues that needed to be fixed. And Coach Reid is doing everything he can to help them not make these mistakes. This is the Chiefs’ third one-score loss.

Reid’s Chiefs blamed themselves for the loss

The Jaguars’ QB Trevor Lawrence’s winning TD despite stumbling twice was big for the team. However, it wasn’t the best look for the Chiefs’ defense. Defensive tackle Chris Jones was even called out by the fans, who felt that the player seemed to give up and didn’t do enough to stop Lawrence.

While that likely wasn’t the case, the DE still chose to take the blame. “It was a fluke play for him to be able to break that many tackles,” Jones said at the press conference. “But yeah, I put it on us as a defense. We got to finish. We got to bring him down on that.”

Before Jones, Mahomes also pointed out the issue with penalties. “Obviously, it sucks,” he said. “You let a game slip away. It still sucks whenever you get a lead and you’re not able to hold it. We have the guys and we’ve executed at certain points in games and looked really good, but we crush ourselves with penalties and mistakes.”

The Chiefs will look to avoid such mistakes when they face the Detroit Lions.