Detroit upset Kansas City 21-20 to open the 2023 NFL season. The result surprised many, but the way the Chiefs lost was no surprise to longtime fans of the Philadelphia Eagles.
To say head coach Andy Reid’s team dropped the ball on Thursday would be an understatement. The team’s would-be pass-catchers played “Hot Potato” with the football all night.
Running back Jerick McKinnon, backup tight end Noah Gray and wide receiver Skyy Moore all had drops against the Lions. Rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice dropped the ball twice but was outdone by fellow receiver Kadarius Toney who had three drops, the first leading to a pick-six by Lions rookie Brian Branch, the last killing any chance the Chiefs had to win the game.
Would things have gone differently with Tyreek Hill on the team? What about last year’s leading wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster? With a .641 winning percentage in 25 seasons, Reid will go down in history as one greatest coaches in NFL history, but he’s always had a blind spot when it comes to wide receivers.
After taking over the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999, Reid went five straight seasons without a 1,000-yard receiver. James Thrash came closest with 833 yards in 2001. Reid didn’t get a big game receiver until 2004 when the team traded for Terrell Owens, who finished the year with 1,200 yards and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Reid has always put more faith in his system than those in it, especially the wide receivers. Aside from Owens, only two receivers ever reached the 1,000-yard mark for Reid’s Eagles. Kevin Curtis had 1,110 yards in 2007 and DeSean Jackson did it twice with 1,156 yards in 2009 and 1,056 yards a year later.
Donovan McNabb finished his Eagles career as the team’s all-time leading passer with 32,873 yards. Most of those passes went to little-known receivers like Thrash, Torrance Small and Todd Pinkston. How much better would McNabb’s numbers have been if he’d had a player of Owens’ caliber for more than 21 games?
Of course, Philadelphia never had a perennial 1,000-yard receiver at tight end like the Chiefs have in Travis Kelce. The four-time All-Pro set career marks with 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. He’s a big reason the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, but he’ll be 34 in October and his absence from last night’s game showed how underwhelming the Chiefs’ receivers could be this year.
Rice or Moore could always become the next Hill or Schuster. But there’s always a chance they become the next Na Brown and Freddie Mitchell, former Eagles receivers who failed to develop while Reid focused on other positions.