FOOTBALL

April trial date set for ex-Chiefs assistant Britt Reid

The trial of former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid, who is facing a felony driving while intoxicated charge, is scheduled for April 18.

The date was set Thursday morning at a virtual hearing. Reid and his attorney, J.R. Hobbs, participated by videoconference.

The charges stem from a Feb. 4 incident, when Reid is alleged to have been driving drunk when he hit two cars that were stopped on the side of an entrance ramp to Interstate 435. The wreck left a 5-year-old girl with a traumatic brain injury, and injured another child.

If convicted of the Class D felony, Reid, 36, could be sentenced up to seven years in prison. He is the son of Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who hired him to coach linebackers.

Charges were filed April 12. He entered a not guilty plea.

Kansas City prosecutors say Reid had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.113 from a sample taken two hours after he barreled into a disabled vehicle on I-435. Reid was driving 83.9 miles per hour — in a posted 65 mph zone — 1.9 seconds before slamming into the vehicle, per the probable cause statement form made public earlier this year.

Reid suffered blunt force trauma to his groin in the accident, which required emergency surgery, per the filing.

He initially was placed on administrative leave by the Chiefs before the organization decided against renewing his contract.

Familiarity may give neither team edge in Chiefs-Ravens

The “heat of the moment,” as described by Kansas City tackle Orlando Brown Jr., can turn into an explosive fire when Patrick Mahomes happens to be quarterbacking your team.

That’s something Brown discovered first-hand along the reconstructed Kansas City offensive front as the Chiefs (1-0) pulled off a fourth-quarter rally to win their opener and now face a Sunday night test at Baltimore against Brown’s former team, the Ravens (0-1).

“That’s what this team is, it’s a ton of resilience, a lot of talent, and Patrick is the best ever at what he does. This is a team you should never count out,” said Brown, who insisted he must play better while continuing to gel within a line that includes three rookie starters.

To improve immediately, he must dismiss any nostalgia he feels while performing against his former team in a stadium where he also watched his father play.

“I’ll be very emotional, but I plan on letting my emotions play for themselves,” Brown said.

That and continue to trust in Mahomes, who fired three touchdown passes in the second half and finished with 337 yards executing a 33-29 comeback against the Cleveland Browns. Mahomes took two sacks. His most dazzling throw, a 75-yard scoring bomb to Tyreek Hill, came while eluding pressure.

When asked how he clicked with his new line, Mahomes accepted blame on some pressures while acknowledging he could see a variety of blitzes from the Ravens, who feature rangy linebacker Patrick Queen.

“I’ve got to work on just the depth of my drop,” Mahomes said. “It’s something I always have to work on, just not fading back too much.”

Brown won’t be the only player sharing intel with a new team. Sammy Watkins moved on to Baltimore after contributing to Super Bowl runs by Kansas City the past two seasons. Watkins had four receptions for 96 yards in the Ravens’ opener, a 33-27 overtime loss Monday at Las Vegas.

“The best thing is we get to play against one of the best teams in the NFL,” Watkins said. “We’ve just got to come out and clean things up in practice. … We get to redeem ourselves.”

Any duel between Mahomes and Lamar Jackson creates considerable attention, but the Ravens’ quarterback knows that he must exercise more caution after losing two fumbles in the opener. The second turnover launched the Raiders’ game-winning drive.

“That ticked me off. I hate any turnover,” said Jackson, adding that “we’ve got to move on quick. Everybody hates losing. It’s going to be a quick turnaround, though.”

Maybe that short timeframe enables Jackson not to dwell on memories of three defeats in three meetings against Mahomes and the Chiefs. Jackson must continue to improvise with a patchwork offense that still must cope with the loss of three running backs to injuries prior to the opener.

Against the Raiders, Ty’son Williams stepped up and recorded 65 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, while adding three receptions for 29 yards. Jackson, the first NFL quarterback to post 1,000 yards rushing in two seasons, gained 86 yards while averaging 7.2 yards per carry.

Injuries have led to eight Ravens being placed on injured reserve, including Tyre Phillips, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid reported no injuries as the practice week began. The Chiefs’ Tyrann Mathieu should be available after he missed the opener coming off COVID-19 protocol. Frank Clark also sat out with a strained hamstring.

Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu, DE Frank Clark return to practice

Safety Tyrann Mathieu is back at practice and should be in the lineup when the Kansas City Chiefs meet the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night, coach Andy Reid said.

Reid said before practice Wednesday the Chiefs would have full participation and no injury concerns. That includes defensive end Frank Clark, who was inactive last week with a hamstring injury.

Mathieu was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list and did not play in Kansas City’s Week 1 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Mathieu wanted to return last week, but Reid cited conditioning as the primary reason he remained inactive.

In the final year of a three-year contract, Mathieu has said he hopes to work out a long-term deal before free agency arrives in March. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has concurred.

Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs use fourth-quarter magic to edge Browns

Patrick Mahomes passed for 337 yards and three touchdowns Sunday, all in the second half, as the Kansas City Chiefs did not lead until the fourth quarter but edged the Cleveland Browns 33-29 at Kansas City, Mo.

Cleveland punter Jamie Gillan failed to handle a snap and the Chiefs tackled him for a fourth-down loss at the Browns 15. Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce three plays later for an 8-yard touchdown and a 33-29 lead with 7:04 remaining.

The rally gave the Chiefs their 15th consecutive September victory as they begin their quest for a third straight AFC title. Mahomes finished 27 of 36, while also throwing an 11-yard TD to Kelce and a 75-yard scoring bomb to Tyreek Hill.

Baker Mayfield played brilliantly, passing for 321 yards while going 21 of 28 to fuel the Browns, who lost at Kansas City in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs last season.

Two straight three-and-outs in the fourth quarter enabled the Chiefs defense to atone for a 457-yard output by the Browns. Mike Hughes snagged the interception that sealed the outcome with 1:07 left and the Browns at midfield.

The Browns’ Nick Chubb added a game-high 83 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

Cleveland scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions to grab a 22-10 halftime lead with a 9.9-yard average per snap. Nick Chubb produced scores off carries of 4 and 18 yards.

The Browns converted a fourth-and-three from the Kansas City 15 on their first drive. After Chubb’s TD, Cleveland added a two-point conversion leap by Kareem Hunt to go up 8-0.

That was only the beginning, as the Browns amassed 318 first-half yards and even gained 45 on their last snap with a series of laterals trying to tack on another score. Mayfield completed nine straight passes during one stretch and fired for 186 first-half yards.

Browns safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. was ejected after he shoved a Chiefs assistant during a first-quarter sideline scuffle that led to personal fouls on both teams.