Why Chiefs Care More About Correcting Penalties Than Dropped Passes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Like Kansas City’s first snow on Monday, dropped passes have crept in and cooled off the Chiefs’ offense.

But as frustrating as they are, especially when Patrick Mahomes rolls out and fires a perfect pass, Andy Reid doesn’t see drops as handcuffing the Chiefs as much as yellow laundry.

“So, I don’t look at that as something that's hindering us,” Reid said Monday afternoon. “I mean, we've got to take care of the penalty part of it as we go forward here.”

xavier worthy, travis kelc — Nov 27, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrate after a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the first quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Drops victimized Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce in the Chiefs’ 31-28 loss at Dallas last week.

The most painful drop last week

Worthy’s drop may have inflicted the most pain. Late in the first half after Dallas took its first lead, 17-14, Mahomes saw the Cowboys jump offside and knew he had a free play. With Worthy singled up with cornerback DaRon Bland, Mahomes immediately went his direction.

The receiver made a nice adjustment to come back to the ball but couldn’t secure the catch, negating what would’ve been a 36-yard gain to the Cowboys’ 19-yard line.

patrick mahome — Nov 27, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws a pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Instead, with the Chiefs trying to get into field-goal range, Josh Simmons was called for a questionable holding with his hands inside the frame, Mahomes couldn’t find anyone on third-and-long, and Kansas City had to punt. It was a significant stop for the Cowboys.

Rice’s drop negated a third-down conversion in the fourth quarter, right after the Cowboys took a 28-21 loss. Again, the Chiefs had to punt.

travis kelc — Nov 27, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) runs with the ball against Dallas Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson (6) and Dallas Cowboys safety Malik Hooker (28) during the second quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Even Kelce, who has just five drops this year – his fewest since 2020 – was affected at Dallas. His fourth-quarter drop, however, was wiped out by Mike Caliendo’s holding penalty.

Uncharacteristic traits

“And Rashee normally doesn't drop a football,” Reid said, “so that's not his deal. And, the Kelce one, there was penalty on the play. Kind of negated that whole thing. But those guys, you talk about either one of those two, they've made the great plays, too.”

While the drops seem to be happening at critical junctures over the last few games, Reid’s energy is focused more on correcting penalties.

“These things are happening at crucial times, and it takes you out of a flow. You’re first-and-15, first-and-20, second-and-20. It takes you out of your run-game stuff, the flow of that potentially, or whatever you have going at that time that's sending you forward. Now you're going backward.”

The Chiefs as a team are dropping passes at a slightly higher rate – they rank 13th in the league at 4.7 percent, with 13 drops over 275 catchable passes -- in 2025. Last year, they finished 11th in the NFL at 4.3 percent (18 drops, 422 catchable passes).

But perhaps Reid isn’t too concerned because the last time the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, in 2023, they ranked dead last at 7.7 percent (35 drops, 456 catchable passes).

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