Chiefs ‘mad’ over no-call on Smith-Schuster hit

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs coach Andy Reid indicated he believed the Jacksonville Jaguars should have been penalized for the hit that forced wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to exit Sunday’s game in the second quarter and enter the concussion protocol.

“As long as there’s contact to the head, it doesn’t need to be in the game,” Reid said of the hit on Smith-Schuster by Jaguars safety Andre Cisco. “So it looked like there was contact to the head from where I was standing, but I’m not the one making that call.”

Smith-Schuster had been going across the middle to catch a pass from Patrick Mahomes when Cisco hit him high and a flag was thrown. The wide receiver was motionless on the turf with his hands momentarily frozen. He was eventually helped to his feet and walked off with assistance from teammates

While he was still on the ground, referee Brad Rogers picked up the flag and announced there was no penalty, even though replays showed helmet-to-helmet contact. Reid protested to Rogers and later said he was told the contact was shoulder-to-shoulder and not subject to a penalty.

“He obviously was in pretty bad position there for shoulder-to-shoulder [contact],” Reid said.

Said Rogers after the game: “After discussion on the field, the two officials came in and determined that the defender had set and braced for impact and hit shoulder-to-shoulder. They didn’t feel it was use of a helmet foul.”

Smith-Schuster did not return to the game, which Kansas City won 27-17. The Chiefs’ leading wide receiver this season (46 receptions, 615 yards), Smith-Schuster had two catches for 33 yards against the Jaguars.

After the game, his teammates shared their unhappiness about the lack of a call.

“We were mad,” Chiefs safety Justin Reid said. “I’ve had a lot of big hits and not once have I made helmet-to-helmet contact like that.”

Said Mahomes: “Obviously, there was some helmet-to-helmet contact, and we want to get that out of the league as much as possible, for player safety. These guys on defense are playing too, but by rule, if it’s helmet-to-helmet, it is supposed to be a flag. I know that guy wasn’t trying to. I know it’s a bang-bang play.”

Mahomes mentioned that perhaps helmet-to-helmet blows should be reviewed, much like targeting penalties are in college football, though he walked back that thought when asked to clarify what he meant. The quarterback also shared a positive update on Smith-Schuster.

“It was scary when you’re out there. We saw him after the game and he seemed perfectly normal,” Mahomes said, “giggling around, joking around, stuff like that. Just take precautions and get him back healthy as quickly as possible.”

The Chiefs played against the Jaguars without another top wide receiver, Mecole Hardman, because of an abdominal injury. Recently acquired Kadarius Toney was the Chiefs’ leading wide receiver with four receptions, and he scored his first NFL touchdown in the first quarter when he hopped along the sideline on one leg to reach the end zone.

He could have a similarly large role in next Sunday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, particularly if Smith-Schuster and Hardman don’t play.

Toney initially hesitated when asked whether he already felt more a part of things with the Chiefs than he did in his one-plus seasons with the New York Giants. But he eventually answered by saying, “I don’t want to throw no [shade], but kind of, yeah.”

“I feel like I’m right where I need to be,” added Toney, a first-round draft pick by the Giants last year. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to go to New York.

“I guess you could say New York, it was a learning experience. Just got my feet wet. I’m a rookie coming in just trying to learn how the business goes, how everything really goes. Now I’m here.”

Toney caught 39 passes in 10 games last season for the Giants and two in two games this year before being sidelined with a hamstring injury. He played his first game with the Chiefs last week against the Tennessee Titans and caught two passes.

“Just really just spending extra time doing what I’ve got to do to make sure I know what I’ve got to do,” Toney said on how he got up to speed so quickly with the Chiefs. “It’s my job to know what I have to do. So why not spend every waking moment I’ve got doing what I’ve got to do?”

Toney also had a succinct response on the hit to his wide receiver teammate: “That was illegal,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.