Chiefs’ Marquez Valdes-Scantling Vows to ‘Be Better’ After Dropping TD in Eagles Loss

David Eulitt/Getty Images

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling has vowed to improve after a crucial drop late in the fourth quarter cost his team in a 21-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Valdes-Scantling promised to “be better” going forward.

The drop occurred with 1:42 remaining when Valdes-Scantling got behind Eagles cornerback Bradley Roby and Patrick Mahomes dropped a dime that the wideout couldn’t reel in.

Even though Valdes-Scantling is going to receive most of the blame because his drop occurred in the biggest moment of the game, he was hardly the only problem among Chiefs pass-catchers on Monday night.

Travis Kelce had a gimme pass hit off his fingertips shortly before the two-minute warning. He made up for it by catching a four-yard pass on 4th-and-2 on the next play, but the eight-time Pro Bowler also lost a fumble earlier in the game inside the Eagles’ 10-yard line.

Drops have been a problem for the Chiefs throughout the season. They had five of them against the Eagles, bringing their total through 10 games up to an NFL-high 26. The only other team with at least 20 drops this season is the New York Jets (21).

This was an issue in the season-opener against the Detroit Lions when the Chiefs lost 21-20. Mahomes has 124 incompletions all season, with drops accounting for 20.9 percent of that total.

On the Chiefs’ final play of the game, Mahomes threw a pass that went right through the hands of Justin Watson. If he had caught the ball, it would have gained enough yards to convert a 4th-and-25.

While Mahomes is still playing at a high level, the lack of consistency from the pass-catchers around him has a profound impact on the Chiefs. They currently rank 14th in the NFL with 22.5 points per game. They haven’t ranked lower than sixth in any season since Mahomes became the full-time starter in 2018.

Kansas City’s 5.3 second-half points per game is the fewest in the NFL. The only other teams that averaged fewer than 7.0 second-half points per game are the Las Vegas Raiders (6.8) and Arizona Cardinals (6.0).

The Chiefs’ defense is doing a great job of carrying the load while the offense tries to figure things out. They haven’t allowed more than 24 points in a game this season and held the Eagles to a season-low 238 yards.