Andy Reid opens up about controversial fourth-down call in Chiefs' loss to Texans

The Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans were tied 10-10 with 10:27 remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday night's game when Chiefs head coach Andy Reid kept his offense on the field for a 4th-and-1 at the Kansas City 31-yard line.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was unable to complete a pass, and the Houston offense responded by producing a short touchdown drive for what proved to be the game-winning score. Shortly after the Chiefs fell to 6-7 on the season, Reid accepted blame for his decision. 

Andy Reid took "full responsibility" for fourth-down decision

"I put the guys, offensively, in a tough position with the fourth downs [calls]," Reid said during his postgame comments, per Nate Taylor of ESPN. "I was trying to stay aggressive with it. I take full responsibility for that. I thought we could get it. It's important that you take advantage of opportunities. In hindsight, it was wrong. I messed that one up."

Reid had no real reason not to trust his defense in that moment, as it hadn't allowed a score since the second quarter of play. That said, one decision isn't why the Chiefs' run of winning the AFC West will end at nine consecutive seasons. The previously mentioned Mahomes completed 14-of-33 pass attempts for 160 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions in Kansas City's latest defeat. 

Patrick Mahomes speaks honestly about Chiefs' playoff chances

The Chiefs ended the evening trailing three teams in the battle for the AFC's final wild-card postseason berth. As of Monday morning, the ESPN Football Power Index gave Kansas City a 14.2 percent chance to qualify for the playoffs. 

"We know the chances are getting lower and lower, but I know the guys on this team are going to give everything they have, every opportunity we get," Mahomes said about the Chiefs' pursuit of a spot in the postseason tournament, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "We’re not winning games, but that mindset the guys have in this locker room, in the games we’re not winning, you can never question the fight of this team. Obviously, we’re not executing at the right moments, and we’re not making those plays, but at the end of the day, you can never question that, and I think you’ll see that these last four weeks."

The Chiefs next host the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 14. The 8-4 Chargers will welcome the Philadelphia Eagles (8-4) to SoFi Stadium on Monday night. 

"Listen, it's never over, so you keep battling," Reid said about how the Chiefs must respond to Sunday's loss. "I've been doing this a long time. I've seen some things, so you keep going."