In Week 1, no player was more dissed, picked on, or meme-ified than Kansas City Chiefs wideout Kadarius Toney. His embarrassing season-opening performance against the Lions made him the butt of all jokes as Giants fans and Chiefs haters alike shared a common goal: Roast the living dignity out of Kadarius Toney.
One week later, the red-hot embers from the Toney roasts have cooled down, and the Chiefs are now focused on getting their first win of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Toney, too, wants to turn Week 2 into a redemption game in which he tries to win back all the Chiefs fans he drove away. In the words of the great Ted Lasso, can those Chiefs fans be goldfish? Can Toney be a goldfish?
The former Giants wideout rued his Week 1 errors in a Thursday presser: "I told coach, I told Pat, all the guys -- that's on me. At the end of the day, y'all count on me and rely on me to make certain plays, and I've got to be there to do that. There's really no excuse, nothing you can blame it on -- none of that."
Toney adds that he knows he "could have made those plays," to which the Chiefs fanbase is no doubt issuing a challenge: Prove it.
Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney speaks out on Week 1 errors
In Week 1's loss against the Lions, Toney only recorded one catch for one yard on five targets. He dropped two key passes, one which turned into a pick-six, and another that stifled a crucial Chiefs drive in the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs offense looked out of sorts all night without Travis Kelce in the mix, and Toney -- along with Skyy Moore -- were the two players roasted the most for their demoralizing lack of production.
With Kelce healthy for Week 2, Toney will likely see less of the ball. Still, it seems as though Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid trust him to bounce back and develop into a more consistent big-play contributor. Toney's 65-yard punt return in the Chiefs' Super Bowl win over the Eagles showed what Toney can accomplish at his best; his most recent Week 1 performance showed Toney at his worst.
Hopefully, the third-year wide receiver can find a good middle ground this season.
