Week 11 of the 2023 NFL season wrapped up on Monday evening with one of the most highly anticipated games of the campaign. The Kansas City Chiefs welcomed the Philadelphia Eagles to Arrowhead Stadium for a Super Bowl rematch and, for 60 minutes, it was a competitive and interesting football game. Kansas City built a 17-7 lead, only for Philadelphia to respond with a pair of touchdowns to take control, and Patrick Mahomes had the ball with enough time to build a credible comeback bid.
However, Mahomes and the Chiefs fell short of their goal in the final minutes, and it was Kansas City’s receiving corps that let the quarterback down. The most glaring example of that shortcoming came on second down from near midfield when Mahomes uncorked a picture-perfect pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling that should have resulted in a go-ahead touchdown. But, well, it did not.
Chiefs had a chance to score the go-ahead TD on this play 😬 pic.twitter.com/lFR4oMLOna
— ESPN (@espn) November 21, 2023
This is a stone-cold drop, of course, and while the Chiefs did have more chances, that was the single biggest swing of the game. It also perpetuated a concern for Kansas City in the absence of any truly established pass-catchers aside from Travis Kelce. For good measure, Mahomes delivered another catchable ball on fourth down and long just a few seconds later, only to see Justin Watson fail to secure the catch.
Turnover on downs. Eagles ball!
📺: #PHIvsKC on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/f0JSux0GFT pic.twitter.com/55KEaDMeb1— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2023
And after the game, Valdes-Scantling was unsurprisingly frustrated.
Marquez Valdez-Scantling was IRATE in the tunnel after his crucial late-game drop 😡pic.twitter.com/A3uJin17BF https://t.co/uF9ljxx1vU
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 21, 2023
In the end, Kansas City out-gained Philadelphia by nearly 100 yards, but the home team simply did not execute in the second half. In fact, the Chiefs were scoreless after halftime and, with the combination of these drops and a costly fumble by Kelce, the reigning champs will undoubtedly be kicking themselves for letting one get away in a high-profile situation.