The Kansas City Chiefs‘ unbeaten run in the 2024 NFL season was snapped by the Buffalo Bills in Week 11. While Andy Reid made it clear he doesn’t feel upset about the end of the Chiefs’ undefeated streak, the coach does believe this loss should hurt for the rookies.
Speaking to reporters in his weekly press conference via Zoom on Monday, the Chiefs head coach had a special message particularly directed at the young players, explaining that this kind of loss against another Super Bowl contender should serve as a lesson for everyone.
“You have to dig in, man. These things – these should hurt,” Reid said, via ChiefsWire. You spend a lot of time and preparation for these games and effort and so you have to reach inside as coaches and players, not just players here. You have to figure out the problems and then work to solve them.”
The Chiefs stayed in the game until late, but spent the entire contest playing catch-up against a Bills team that ended up taking a nine-point lead thanks to a 26-yard rushing touchdown by Josh Allen with less than two minutes remaining.
Head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills and head coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs shake hands prior to a game between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium on November 17, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York.
Reid warns Chiefs players not to relax
Reid is confident his team will work hard to bounce back, yet he made sure to let his players know what kind of mindset he expects in the building from now on, as the franchise eyes the first three-peat in NFL history.
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“I know I have that kind of locker room, so I know the guys will do that. I know the coaches will do that, too, but you can’t just say everything’s going to be okay. That’s not how this works,” Reid said. “You have to dig in, and it has to be – there has to be some – you have to check the ego at the door and do some self-evaluation there.”
Reid has a special message for Chiefs’ rookie LT
One of the rookies who has been struggling the most in Kansas City is Kingsley Suamataia, who lost the starting job at left tackle after only two weeks of the 2024 NFL season.
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Suamataia has dropped down Reid’s pecking order ever since, up to the point he wasn’t even activated for the Bills game on Sunday. The Chiefs head coach, however, had encouraging words for the rookie.
“Kingsley will be OK,” Reid said. “It’s just, sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward and that’s what we felt we needed to do there. We’ll go from there and just see how things work out here as he continues to work forward.”
