Despite playing horribly last night, Patrick Mahomes still has ‘trust’ in Kadarius Toney

Last night we had the 2023 NFL season kick-off between the Chiefs and the Lions. Kansas City was coming off a win in Super Bowl 57 but was without two of their three best players. For Detroit, they wanted to prove they could win vs. anyone and beat one of the best teams in the NFL. 

Patrick Mahomes did everything he could for the Chiefs last night, but WR Kadarius Toney had a few costly mistakes. The Chiefs lost a close game to the Lions 21-20 on Thursday Night Football. Despite playing horribly, Mahomes still has “trust” that Toney will get better and not let that game affect his season.

The Chiefs had a real chance to win last night if Kadarius Toney didn’t have so many drops

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said he still ‘Trusts’ WR Kadarius Toney, despite dropping 3 passes.

“I trust that he’s going to be the guy who I go to in those crucial moments. … I’m sure those drops will kind of disappear.”pic.twitter.com/Mjlpm4orfChttps://t.co/Mdf2pQvp2p

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 8, 2023

One player stood out for the Chiefs last night, and not for the right reasons. It was WR Kadrius Toney. The 24-year-old had one catch for one yard on five targets last night. He also had one rush for negative one yards. Kansas City only lost the game by one point last night. That’s because the Lions scored a pick-six.

Kadarius Toney was thrown a pass by Patrick Mahomes and it bounced right off of his hands. The ball hung in the air and it was intercepted by Lions’ rookie LB Brian Branch. In his first NFL game, he picked off a two-time league MVP and returned it for a 50-yard touchdown. Courtesy of Toney not catching what was a perfect pass by Mahomes.

F*ck it, Kadarius Toney week 1 highlights🔥 pic.twitter.com/k1wtXJD1ex

— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) September 8, 2023

Without Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes spread the ball out last night. Kadarius Toney, Rashee Rice, and Noah Gray were each targeted five times. Toney was by far the least productive of those three. Rice had three catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. Gray had three catches for 31 yards. Sadly, Toney had too many costly drops last night that could have helped the Chiefs win the game. Kansas City plays next Sunday on the road vs. the Jaguars. The Chiefs will hope Kelce is back by that point.