The Kansas City Chiefs were hell-bent on the 2025 season being a revenge tour. After falling handily in Super Bowl LIX to the Philadelphia Eagles, a return to The Big Game was the only thing on the minds of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and co. It all began on Friday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil. But it didn’t go to plan.
The Los Angeles Chargers came in with a chip on their shoulder and spoiled Kansas City’s party. Mahomes played well enough for the Chiefs to pull out a victory, but he got out-dueled by an invigorated Justin Herbert. The Chargers QB was on fire throughout the game, exposing the Chiefs’ secondary and bringing about concerning questions regarding Kansas City’s defensive back room.
Chiefs defense misses Justin Reid in Week 1 of 2025 NFL season
Steve Spagnuolo‘s defense simply couldn’t stop Herbert through the air, with all of Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey and Keenan Allen frequently getting open. Herbert seemed to particularly target Jaden Hicks in the Chiefs’ secondary. A rotational defensive back in his rookie season in 2024, Hicks slotted in as the starter from the get-go this year. So far, not so good.
Hicks struggling had analysts questioning why the Chiefs didn’t try harder to bring back Justin Reid in the offseason. Reid was a full-time starter for the Chiefs in each of the past three seasons.
Kansas City didn’t have much cap space flexibility this past offseason, so Reid was essentially a casualty of limited money. The Chiefs front office decided to prioritize re-signing linebacker Nick Bolton over Reid. At least for one week, that looks like a potential negative for the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run.
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