Patrick Mahomes’ message to Kadarius Toney – ‘Just be you’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Patrick Mahomes said he had a simple message for wide receiver Kadarius Toney as the Kansas City Chiefs practiced for the first time since Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“Just be you,” Mahomes told Toney, whose offsides penalty late against the Bills cost the Chiefs a 49-yard touchdown. “That's all you can do in life or in this league. You're going to make mistakes. Things are going to happen in your life. How do you accept that adversity, overcome it and do it the right way?

“You make a mistake, it won't define you. It will be how you respond to that mistake.”

Coach Andy Reid said earlier in the week that Toney would remain in the lineup. The mistake against the Bills wasn't the first costly mistake Toney has made this season. He deflected an easily catchable ball to a defender who returned it for a touchdown in a one-point loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 1.

The Chiefs' receivers, with the exception of rookie Rashee Rice, have struggled for much of the season. They lead the NFL in dropped passes with 29.

But Mahomes said he hasn't lost faith in any of them as the Chiefs have lost four of their last six games to fall to 8-5, one game ahead of the Denver Broncos in the AFC West.

“All the receivers know I believe in them,” he said. “That's kind of how I roll. If you're in this locker room and I see how hard you work, I'm going to trust you in the big moments and I'm going to give you chances to go out there and to play and for everything, I know their mindset. It looks like it's a good position and they just want to go there and keep improving. I can see it how hard they work here. And I I feel like if we can just keep moving forward, we'll come out on the other side as the season goes on.

Mahomes said he had spoken with Bills quarterback Josh Allen since Sunday when a television camera captured their exchange after the game in which Mahomes said of officials penalizing Toney: “The f***ing craziest call I've ever seen. Offensive offsides on that play, man. Fucking terrible.”

On Wednesday, Mahomes said, “Everything's fine,” but otherwise didn't want to elaborate on the conversation.

Allen confirmed Wednesday that Mahomes had contacted him.

“Yeah, he reached out to me. I was like it's football, it's an emotional game. I know he didn't mean anything by it. I know the cameras kind of kind of caught the last few seconds of what we were talking about. He's “He's an ultimate competitor. He wants to win. That’s why he is what he is,” he said.

Tight end Travis Kelce has also defended the Chiefs' receivers on his weekly podcast “New Heights” which he hosts with his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.

“There's a lot of media pointing fingers at the talented players on our team, I say that's screwed,” Kelce said. “Excuse my language, we usually swear in a light-hearted way, but you had to feel it no matter who is talking about our talented players and our offense.

“It's a group effort and when we shoot the film, what's real is we have guys that can play this game and we have guys that we can be successful with and win championships. I I know, I've been a part of championship-winning teams. When you watch the film, the penalties, the turnovers and the critical moments, it's everyone, it's not just one guy. Everyone gets a piece of the pie. “

ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg contributed to this report.