Chiefs coach Andy Reid blamed the sod at State Farm Stadium for injuries to kicker Harrison Butker and defensive back Trent McDuffie. The Cardinals have responded.

“The entire field was replaced on Monday, August 22nd — the day after the last home preseason game vs. Baltimore — so it had it almost three full weeks before the Week One game vs. Kansas City,” Cardinals spokesman Mark Dalton told PFT via text message. “That’s more than enough time for the Tifway Bermuda 419 hybrid sod to take root, especially in 109 degrees and abundant sunshine.”

Reid attributed the looseness of the turf to the fact that the re-sodding had happened recently.

“The field at State Farm Stadium is routinely ranked among the best — if not THE best — among NFL players, including in surveys conducted by the NFLPA,” Dalton said. “Like all fields, the surface at State Farm Stadium undergoes the NFL’s required testing and certification process both before and after games. Sunday it not only met but exceeded those standards.”

The reality is that all sorts of fields that arguably shouldn’t be certified somehow are, including a Chicago swamp on Sunday.

McDuffie injured his hamstring while in pass coverage. Although it’s been reported as fact that McDuffie’s feet slipped out from under him, the video of the play doesn’t obviously show a slip and fall.

Butker suffered the injury while slipping during a kickoff. He has slipped at the end of his lengthy approach to kicking the ball from the tee, however. Multiple times.

Even though it will be multiple years before the Chiefs play there again in the regular season, they could be back in February for the biggest game of the year.

i’d bet the turf at FedEx is the worse!

The Walrus is a whiner

You could clearly see the field was loose on Butker’s kickoff. I don’t see why the Chiefs would make anything up about it. It was loose sod and not in the best of shape.

It’s very difficult to believe Andy Reid is right, and I am NO fan of the Arizona Cardinals. With where i live in the southeast it’d be shocking it didn’t establish in 3 weeks of sunshine. If the sod tiles weren’t aligned well that’s a different matter but again, it’s hard to believe it didn’t root in 3 weeks.

Well with those comments I think he just jinxed their return.

Very well known that the Cards field surface is the best in the NFL period.

Perfect example of baseless claims getting debunked. This is the world in which we live in.

Cardinals better get their turf straightened out before Josh Allen takes their field in the super bowl

I’d love to have Soldier Field known from this point forward as “the Swamp”! Have the Chicago Park District pay royalties to Florida State.

Most likely, everything said by all these people is true. The turf was bad. The turf was certified. The turf is rated very good. It’s like watching Tom Brady throw an interception. But even though he threw an interception, someone points out that he’s won 7 super bowls, and he’s arguably the greatest QB ever. Again, all of the above was true.

I don’t recall seeing an actual field in Chicago on Sunday.

The game was played in Lake Michigan if I recall.

The point is, the process that the stadium uses is dumb.

3 weeks is standard, not “more than enough”. The approach is what’s flawed.

Anyone can see how the “tray” that slides in and out of the stadium isn’t the same thing as it being placed on solid ground. Again, not the same.

Imagine the opposing team scoring 44 points on a bad field with a 40 million dollar QB. I can only wonder how many the home team must of put up…. With a 50 million dollar a year QB….

Soldier field should be demolished

We’re talking about a man who takes the blame for everything after every game he’s ever lost and who never says anything bad about any player, coach or anybody in postgame interviews. Sorry, I’ll take the integrity and word of Andy Reid over any paid Public Relations team spokesman who’s probably never spent even 1% of the time on a football field that Andy has.

Don’t know about the turf in Arizona but what were they supposed to do in Chicago? I thought the field held up pretty well there considering all the rain that fell. I didn’t see anybody slipping or huge chunks of turf being torn out like I have seen in other games, including some not played in Soldier Field. I say on both cases, both teams played on the same field in the same conditions so get over it. Did any of the Cardinal players sustain an injury? Haven’t heard of any players other than Mitchell who were injured in the Bears – 49ers game.

After delivering a 44-15 pounding to AZ, it seems unlikely that Reid needed to find a reason to criticize the turf conditions unless he truly believed it was a players’ safety issue.

I guess they would have won by 50 if not for turf problems ?

That field has been the sight of significant injuries to a number of Seahawks. Bad juju.

Andy Reid isn’t one to make excuses, never does. So frankly I trust his opinion.

Field was trash if you actually watched the game.

Nothing is worse than that mess at Soldier Field

I’m not a Chiefs hater but give me a break – two players “slipped” and you criticize the field? Have you ever, in your life, played a competitive game yourself on any sort of field? Its gonna happen. Lame.

the field, another player, momentary lapse in attention, galling on your leg or ankle wrong . its football. people get hurt every day. . bummer it happened to the rookie.

Who thinks 109 degrees is an optimum growing temperature for grass?

Y=The condition of playing fields ahould not be an issue. Where is the NFLPA on this matter?

The Chiefs will be back in February to beat whatever team comes out on top of the NFC!

They were wearing the wrong shoes

The guy that was the coach at Veteran’s stadium is complaining about field conditions?

You sir are hereby banned from the state of Florida for not knowing that The Swamp is where The University of Florida plays and not Florida State!

icantstandwhitecastleanymore says: September 13, 2022 at 9:21 pm I’d love to have Soldier Field known from this point forward as “the Swamp”! Have the Chicago Park District pay royalties to Florida State.

an NFL certified field should “be the change” and “stop hate”

Regardless of when the field was re-sodded Buttker clearly slipped because the turf gave way and people who saw the McDuffie injury claimed it was the same thing.

The NFL should find the best artificial surface and require all teams, in doors or out, to install it. That way, no team would have an advantage or be disadvantaged. ‘Course, that would make perfect sense, so obviously they won’t do it.

the AZ field might be voted one of the best fields before, but you just put in a new one. How many people rated that new one? I would have more respect if you said we will have to recheck the field to see if something was missed

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