KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the fourth quarter of a must-win game Sunday night against the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid made a decision he had never made over a 27-year career — one that proved to be the turning point in an eventual 20-10 loss.
With 10 minutes remaining and the score tied at 10, Reid decided to keep the Chiefs offense on the field facing fourth-and-1 from their own 31-yard line.
It marked the first time in Reid’s career that he went for it on fourth down with the score tied in the fourth quarter or overtime and with his offense inside its own 40-yard line.
“I put the guys, offensively, in a tough position with the fourth downs [calls],” Reid said. “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 league in fourth-down success rate, converting 80.8% of their 26 attempts.
The loss dropped the Chiefs to 6-7, ending their run of nine consecutive AFC West Division titles, which was the second-longest streak in NFL history and was the longest active division title streak by any team across the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.
The Chiefs’ chances of clinching a postseason berth dwindled to just 12%, according to ESPN Analytics. All four of the Chiefs’ remaining games are against AFC opponents, too.
“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.”
For the Chiefs to reach the playoffs, they would need to win their next four games and likely need the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) and Indianapolis Colts (8-5) to lose multiple games.
“We can control how we finish the season,” pass rusher Chris Jones said. “God willing, we’re going to find a way to get into the playoffs. We still got an opportunity, man, even though it’s slim. For us, the door is still open.”
Rice and Brown exited the locker room before reporters were allowed to enter. Inside the locker room, Kelce declined to answer questions from reporters and was one of the last players to take off his uniform. He sat in front of his locker for several minutes with his hands on top of his bowed head.
A few minutes later, the Texans scored to go ahead 17-10.