Toney’s offside penalty in Week 14 has plenty of fans calling for his release.

Kadarius Toney, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.LAPRESSE

Kadarius Toney has had a 2023 season to forget, in all aspects. His year of errors began with a disastrous Week 1 performance in which he dropped nearly every pass that came his way, with one of those drops leading to a pick-six that ended up being the difference between a Kansas City Chiefs win and loss to the Detroit Lions.

Since then, Toney accumulated a measly 138 yards across 10 games leading up to a Week 14 matchup against the Buffalo Bills. Then, he committed an “egregious” offensive offsides penalty that took away a late go-ahead touchdown and caused the Chiefs to lose.

Patrick Mahomes furious with officials after Chiefs loss to Bills

Mahomes and Kelce come to Toney’s defense

It’s been nothing but criticism for Toney from fans this week, with many calling for Kansas City’s front office to finally cut him. Instead, the Chiefs appear to be fully invested in Toney, with the team’s two biggest stars coming to his defense.

First, Travis Kelce spoke about the play on his podcast, taking the opportunity to show his support for Toney.

“I got all the faith in the world in that dude. He’s one our best players. You turn on the film, you watch what he does with the ball in his hands and you can’t tell me you don’t want that guy on your team. Everybody hating on KT right now, I’m not trying to hear that… I’m trusting in 1-9 every time he’s out on the field.”

Kelce definitely showed plenty of trust in Toney just by pitching him the ball in such a crucial situation. It’s no surprise he has his back off the field, too.

Then on Wednesday, Patrick Mahomes talked to media about what he told Toney since the play occurred.

“Just be you. That’s all you can do in life or in this league. You’re going to make mistakes. Stuff’s going to happen in your life. How do you accept that adversity and get past it and do it the right way? You make one mistake, that’s not going to define you. It’s going to be how you respond to that mistake.”

With leaders like Mahomes and Kelce on the team, it’s no surprise the Chiefs have had so much success over the past five years. But at 8-5 with the offense struggling so much, this could be the year where a trip to the AFC Championship isn’t a lock.