The Biggest Hurdle the Chiefs Must Clear

What was the biggest reason why the Kansas City Chiefs lost their season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers?

[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Sep 5, 2025; Sao Paulo, BRAZIL; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid reacts in the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers during a NFL game at Corinthians Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters via Imagn Images | Amanda Perobelli/Reuters via Imagn Images

It's been a couple of days since the Kansas City Chiefs lost their season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Now that the shock of their loss has settled down, the Chiefs can focus on the next game moving forward and worrying about how to avoid another loss.

The next team on their schedule is the Philadelphia Eagles, who won their season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. The Chiefs want to avoid a 0 - 2 start as much as they can, and they'll have to learn from their loss in order to do that.

What Did They Learn?

Aug 22, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Hollywood Brown (5) on the sidelines against the Chicago Bears during the first half of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Thomas Valentine is a sports writer for Pro Football Focus, and he released an article going over some of the biggest reasons each NFL team won or lost in week one. For the Chiefs, the biggest reason they lost, according to Valentine, was due to their poor offense.

"It’s been a bane of this Chiefs offense for a while, but there’s a real concern that this team struggles to make explosive plays in the passing game. Mahomes had his moments, including an excellent scramble and bomb downfield to Marquise Brown, but just 20.6% of Mahomes’ passing attempts went beyond 10 yards", said Valentine.

[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Sep 5, 2025; Sao Paulo, BRAZIL; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at Corinthians Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jean Carniel/Reuters via Imagn Images | Jean Carniel/Reuters via Imagn Images

Unfortunately, this has been a big question mark for the Chiefs' offense for a while now. Their core receiving corps should get the job done on paper, but they've yet to see consistent time on the field together.

"The early injury to Xavier Worthy likely changed the Chiefs’ game plan and their ability to stretch the field, but allowing the Chargers’ defense to play with everything in front of it stifled the Chiefs' offense".

Aug 9, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Xavier Worthy's timeline to return, thankfully, isn't week-to-week, but that still leaves the Chiefs with problems at wide receiver. If they want any chance of beating the Eagles in their Super Bowl rematch, the Chiefs have to get proficient at throwing the ball downfield.

Even having the possibility of Mahomes burning them deep opens up a lot of things for their offense, and that's something that they don't have right now. Worthy was a big part of their game plan, which could explain why their offense was so conservative when he left the game, but the play calling has to be more aggressive, and most importantly, the Chiefs' pass catchers have to show up.

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