The Chiefs made a surprising decision late in their game against the Chargers on “Sunday Night Football,” one that showed some gumption from coach Andy Reid. With just under two minutes to play and the Chiefs at the L.A. 20-yard line, Kansas City was faced with a third-and-7 play, trailing 17-16.
Conventional wisdom would dictate that Kansas City run the ball, probably fail to get a first down, run the clock down to about a minute-and-a-half, then kick a go-ahead field goal. But that would have left time for the Chargers to respond with a field goal of their own.
Instead, Reid put his faith in quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and called for a pass. On a scramble, Mahomes found tight end Travis Kelce just beyond the sticks for the first down. Because the Chargers had no remaining timeouts, the Chiefs were able to kneel out two plays, work the clock to one second remaining, and kick what was a “doink” field goal by backup Matthew Wright, off the crossbar and in for the 19-17 win.
It was a bold move from Reid, but after the game, Kelce had a message on that subject: Chiefs players love Reid because he is not afraid of bold moves.
“Whatever play comes in, we’ve got to make it rock. Whether we’re running it or passing it, that’s up to coach Reid. Obviously, that’s why he’s one of the greatest ever to do it. And we love him for it,” Kelce said.
Kelce said that any play allowing Mahomes to make a play is going to have a good chance to give the Chiefs a positive outcome.
“That was a play where you get Pat the ability to get out of the pocket and make a play with his arms or his legs and with that being said, we gotta find a way to get the first down,” Kelce said after the game. “So I just improvised a little bit off the initial route and found a void. Pat was right on cue, getting it to me at the last second.”
The Chiefs’ record bulged to 12-1 with the win, enough to clinch the AFC West championship for the ninth straight year.
