Kadarius Toney's brutal performance magnifies Travis Kelce's absence for Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs opened the 2023 season without one of their most important players in tight end Travis Kelce after he hyperextended his knee in practice this past week. 

His absence meant everybody else on offense, specifically the team's wide receivers, needed to step up.

They did not.

None of them had a worse showing on Thursday night than Kadarius Toney, as he put what had to be one of the worst performances of his career on the field in the Chiefs' 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions.

The overall numbers are bad enough.

He ran the ball one time and lost one yard, and caught just one of the five passes thrown his direction for just one yard. That is two total touches and one total yard. That alone would make for a brutal night for any wide receiver. But when you also take into account how badly the incompletions in his direction were it takes things to an entirely new level.

He dropped three passes, including a perfectly thrown ball from quarterback Patrick Mahomes that should have been an easy catch and run. Instead, the ball bounced off of Toney's hands and went right to Lions rookie Brian Branch, who returned it 50 yards for a game-tying (and ultimately game-changing) touchdown. 

Later in the game he dropped another crucial third down pass that helped stall a potential game-winning drive for the Chiefs and resulted in a chorus of boos from the Arrowhead Stadium crowd. 

Toney was a first-round pick by the New York Giants in the 2021 NFL Draft, but did not make the desired impact with the team and was traded to the Chiefs midway through the 2022 season. He made some plays for the Chiefs after the trade, while also catching a touchdown in the Super Bowl, but any momentum he might have built with that initial showing was overshadowed by his season opening performance on Thursday. 

It also magnified just how much the Chiefs offense relies on Kelce in the passing game.

He is not only Mahomes' go-to receiver, he is also the player that is always there when plays break down and Mahomes has to improvise. That element was not there on Thursday night. Mahomes completed just 21-of-39 passes and posted a 77.5 passer rating. 

The good news for the Chiefs is that Kelce should be available for their Week 2 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 10 days, and based on what we saw against Detroit, their offense badly needs him.