Kansas City Chiefs’ Kadarius Toney deletes X account following loss to Detroit Lions. Why?

There has been much said about the massive victory that the Detroit Lions secured over the Kansas City Chiefs, and of course a slew of predictions about their prospects this season. What’s not been discussed a great deal, however, is how the Chiefs took that loss. By the looks of things, it doesn’t appear to be so good.

Kadarius Toney had a terrible night

As the Kansas City Chiefs come to terms with what the Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions means going forward, they will want to consider the idea that Thursday night’s defeat was to an extent, the result of some very bizarre moments. Yes, some have pointed to the idea that key players such as Travis Kelce were missing, but injuries are part of the game, and so you live with it. Now, so that we’re clear, this is not to diminish the fact that the Lions deserved their win. No, what we’re talking about is wide receiver Kadarius Toney.

On the night, Toney dropped the ball on no less than three occasions, the worst of which was off a pass from Patrick Mahomes which directly hit his hands, as he was in mid-stride on what would have been a third-and-6 in the third quarter. Inconceivably, the ball bounced out of the 24-year-old’s hands and into those of Lions rookie defensive back, Brian Branch, who then proceeded to maraud 50 yards upfield for a TD that tied that game at 14-14. Now, it has to be said that everybody makes mistakes, and it’s not like Toney was the only one. There was also Skyy Moore who was essentially a no-show in the game.

Fans mock Kadarius Toney on social media but Chiefs show support

The love and hate of fans are just two sides of the coin that professional athletes face, but it appears that Kadarius Toney doesn’t want to tolerate anymore of the latter. Following an incessant amount of backlash on social media, Toney deleted his account on X (formerly Twitter), while leaving his Instagram account active with comments restricted. On a positive note, the wideout was offered support from his quarterback, who cited the fact that Toney was only just getting back into the groove.

“I have trust in KT. He missed a lot of training camp,” Mahomes said. “Obviously, he wanted to play and fought in rehab hard so he could play. Stuff is not always going to go your way, obviously, he would have wanted to catch a few of those in the game, but I have trust that he is going to be the 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 and get him more and more reps. I’m sure that those drops will disappear.”

The Chiefs’ wide receivers didn’t step up

There is no way to deny the fact that the loss of Travis Kelce, the No. 1 pass catcher for the Chiefs, was a major blow. With that said, these are the kinds of moments where you expect those who are called on to answer. Sadly, the Chiefs’ wide receivers didn’t. Not to pick on him, but in the 82 times that Toney has been targeted in his career, he’s dropped the ball nine times. That’s the highest drop rate (11.0%) in the NFL since he entered the league in 2021 among 105 wide receivers with 75+ targets.

Then there was Moore, who in the dying moments of a game that the Chiefs lost 21-20, somehow managed to drop a pass from Mahomes that hit him in both hands as he leaped to catch it. It would have been a first down. In total, the Chiefs had four drops on the night. That’s the second most in a game with Mahomes starting. Speaking of Mahomes, the reigning MVP registered 12 yards on 12 targets to wideouts in the entire second half. Ultimately, while it’s clear that the Chiefs need Kelce back as soon as possible, it may be that their wide receivers’ contribution, or lack thereof is of more concern.