Patrick Mahomes Backs Kadarius Toney, Chiefs WRs After Week 1 Loss to Lions

Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes offered his support to Kadarius Toney and the rest of the receiving corps after they struggled in Thursday's season-opening loss to the Detroit Lions.

Speaking to reporters after the 21-20 defeat, Mahomes said he has "trust" in Toney to play better going forward:

"He missed a lot of training camp, and obviously he wanted to play and fought [during] rehab hard so he could play and stuff's not always going to go your way.

"Obviously he would've wanted to catch a few of those in the game, but I've trusted he's going to be that guy that I go to in those crucial moments, and he's going to make the catch and win us some games like he did last year. So we're going to continue to work him in, get him more and more reps, and I'm sure that those drops will kind of disappear."

Mahomes also said not having Travis Kelce available did "have an impact on the game" and the offense will have to get better play from the other pass-catchers.

"Sure," he said, "there'll be times [after Kelce returns] that he gets doubled and so we're just going to have to rely on these other guys that are young and talented to step up and make plays, and I believe that they will."

Kelce was ruled out shortly before kickoff after hyperextending his knee during Tuesday's practice. It was the first time he's missed a game since his rookie season in 2013.

Despite not having their All-Pro tight end available, Kansas City's offense seemed like it was going to be fine early in the game. Eight different players caught a pass for the Chiefs in the first half.

Mahomes was 12-of-17 for 147 yards and two touchdowns through two quarters. The third quarter is when things started to turn for the Chiefs. Toney's first drop was a pass that hit off his hands and into the arms of Lions safety Brian Branch for a pick-six to tie the game at 14.

Toney had another drop late in the fourth quarter on 1st-and-10 when he was wide open and could have potentially scored, but the ball hit off his hands and fell incomplete. The drive ended with a turnover on downs to keep Detroit ahead 21-20.

The third-year wideout was credited with three drops in the game. Mahomes went 9-of-22 for 79 yards and the pick-six with all four drops from his receivers coming in the second half.

Kansas City's leading receiver was Marquez Valdes-Scantling with 48 yards on two catches. Isiah Pacheco had a team-high four receptions. No one was targeted more than five times.

Compounding the issues was the Chiefs' lack of a running game. They finished with 90 yards on 23 carries, with Mahomes leading the way with 45 yards.

Mahomes proved last season that he didn't a great group of receivers to play at an elite level, but Thursday night was a strong indication of how important Kelce is to making the offense go.

The Chiefs will hope to get Kelce back in the lineup when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on Sept. 17.