John Madden and Andy Reid have a history together, but Madden would not have been happy about what he saw out of the Chiefs.
John Madden is known to most as a commentator and the name of the video game franchise. However, he also coached the Las Vegas Raiders, one of the historic rivals of the Kansas City Chiefs. Raiders fans might have been delighted to see the Kansas City Chiefs take their second loss of the season in Week 18, but the former head coach might not have.
Madden mentored Andy Reid and while Reid has received nothing but praise for bringing the NFL to its knees, he isn’t immune to criticism.
Of course, he received plenty of shots on his way out from the Philadelphia Eagles, so he’s had some practice taking some criticism. However, he might be rusty at it. One analyst unleashed on him.
Mad Dog Russo hits out at Andy Reid
Speaking on a January 9 edition of “First Take,” NFL analyst Mad Dog Russo unloaded on Andy Reid after his coached team slumped to the Denver Broncos in a game that determined whether Bo Nix or Joe Burrow would reach the postseason.
“I’ll tell you right now, Andy Reid’s best mentor in his life was John Madden. Madden would have been sick to his stomach to see the way the Chiefs played last week against Denver.
“Look at the way some of these teams played in the last two weeks with nothing much to play for. …
“Look at the way Washington played against Dallas, not a whole heck of a lot on the line. They showed heart.
“What Kansas City did against Denver – they owe the league something. That was a disgrace on Sunday afternoon,” he said.
The Chiefs lost 38-0 in a game in which they played their backups. The CBS broadcast, which had expected a show based on sending out Tony Romo and Jim Nantz to call the game, ended up switching the game prematurely to the Chargers-Raiders showdown, ruining the ability of fans to watch their team break their postseason drought after eight long years.
Andy Reid is winning on reputation alone
While the Chiefs’ overall record leads the NFL and the team has secured the top seed, it hasn’t been because they’re better than everyone else. It also isn’t because they’re getting lucky with ball bounces or lucky calls. Rather, it is because the team has terrorized the league for the last decade.
So many teams had an opportunity to beat the Chiefs that the moment was much bigger to them than it should have been. As such, they shot themselves in the foot. For example, that’s what happened when the Broncos and Raiders failed to beat the team on field goals in the closing moments.
As soon as teams stop being afraid of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs will crumble.
It was clear when their backups posted the 38-0 loss compared to the Rams backups going toe-to-toe with the Seahawks or the Washington Commanders playing tough against the Cowboys. The question is when the bubble will burst.
