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Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney deactivated his X account and restricted comments on his Instagram account after a disappointing performance during a 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions in the NFL Kickoff Game Thursday (September 8) night.
Toney recorded one reception for one yard and dropped three of the five passes thrown his way, including a crucial interception that deflected into the hands of Lions safety Brian Branch, who became the first rookie in NFL history to record an interception touchdown in his first career game, evening the score at 14-14 in the third quarter. Toney would later drop a deep pass that would've put Kansas City in field goal range trailing by one point with 2:25 remaining.
Numerous X users trolled the wide receiver after his struggling performance, which likely led to his decision to deactivate his account.
Toney wasn't alone in his struggles, however, with several other Chiefs receivers dropping crucial passes during the loss. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes defended Toney after the game, acknowledging that the receiver missed time during training camp.
"Obviously, he wanted to play and fought in rehab hard so he could play," Mahomes said via Yahoo Sports. "Stuff is not always going to go your way, obviously, he would have wanted to catch a few of those in the game, but I have trust that he is going to be the guy that I go to in those crucial moments and he's going to make the catch and win us some games like he did last year and get him more and more reps. I'm sure that those drops will disappear."
The Chiefs will face the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field in Week 2.