Reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs downplayed wide receiver Kadarius Toney's poor performance on Thursday. Toney dropped several of Mahomes' passes in the Chiefs' 21-20 seasoning-opening loss to the Detroit Lions.

Mahomes believes Toney will eventually get his act together as the season progresses. “I trust that he's going to be the guy who I go to in those crucial moments…I'm sure those drops will kind of disappear,” Mahomes said after the game (via Yahoo! Sports' Jori Epstein).

Toney caught just one of five passes from the Chiefs quarterback on Thursday. The former just couldn't get in a groove all game long.

Kadarius Toney's first costly error occurred with 11:06 left in the first quarter. Mahomes found him at midfield but Toney couldn't get a firm grip on the ball. Consequently, Lions rookie safety Brian Branch intercepted the pass and scored on a pick-six that tied the game at 14 apiece.

Toney had a chance to atone for his blunder in the third quarter. Regrettably, he couldn't handle Patrick Mahomes' pass after he ran a route across the middle.

Kadarius Toney's biggest mistake of the night was mishandling a desperation heave from Mahomes with 2:25 left in the game. Toney got his hands on the ball but eventually dropped it. The Chiefs turned the ball over on downs and missed a chance to take the lead with a field goal.

To nobody's surprise, Toney's atrocious debut with the Chiefs drew serious backlash on X. To Toney's credit, he returned in time for the season opener despite undergoing offseason knee surgery. It's evident he's not 100 percent after his performance against the Lions.

Hopefully, Kadarius Toney will become one of Patrick Mahomes' reliable weapons down the stretch.