By TIM BISEL
TopSports.news
The Concussion. The Controversial Touchback. The Close Call. The Conquering Backup. The Conversion.
Pick just about any C, and it seems the Kansas City Chiefs’ 22-17 victory against the Cleveland Browns featured it Sunday in the AFC Divisional round at Arrowhead Stadium.
But ultimately the contest came down to a few specific Cs — namely the Coach, his Confidence, his Conviction and, of course, his Call.
The Chiefs advanced to their third consecutive conference championship game at least in small part because Andy Reid’s mastery of the moment continues to grow.
With backup quarterback Chad Henne forced under center after Patrick Mahomes left the game in the third quarter under concussion protocol, Big Red refused to blink. Facing a fourth-and-inches from near midfield with under a minute and a half remaining, Reid showed the entire football world just how much confidence he has in his team, staff, preparation and play-calling.
Rather than following conventional wisdom and punting to pin the Browns deep, Reid called for a short pass to Tyreek Hill along the line of scrimmage. Henne fired a dart to Hill, who easily picked up the first down and secured the Chiefs’ spot in the AFC title contest, where they will host the Buffalo Bills at 5:40 p.m. Sunday.
“That’s why we love Big Red,” Chiefs safety Tryann Mathieu told CBS after the game. “He’s always on time. He’s like our spirit warrior out here.”
There was a time — not that long ago, if we’re being honest — when Reid was known (at least among the so-called media pundits) as much for his questionable clock management as for his offensive ingenuity.
But since he and the Chiefs drafted the incomparable Mahomes in 2017 and inserted him as their starter a year later, Reid seems to have made it his mission to make guys like Riverboat Ron Rivera envious. He’s fearless, resolute and creative, especially when it matters most.
Just this season alone, Reid made key fourth-down calls that helped the Chiefs pull out tight victories at the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins. He also employed other aggressive strategies that proved crucial in securing nine wins of six points or fewer.
Big Red’s latest late-game decision, however, was by far his biggest … and his most shocking. It’s one thing to go for fourth-and-inches when you’re snapping the ball to Mahomes, the game’s best quarterback (sorry, Aaron Rodgers). It’s something entirely different when you’re doing it with a 35-year-old Henne at the helm.
Let’s face it: No one really expected the Chiefs to run that play. Even when they lined up to do so we thought they were just trying to draw the Browns offside. I know I certainly didn’t expect the snap. CBS analyst Tony Romo didn’t, either. In fact, Romo sounded downright dumbfounded by Reid’s audacity.
“Only Andy Reid gets in shotgun on fourth and an inch and [makes] that call with his backup quarterback!” Romo blurted out. “There’s no way. He shocked everybody. I mean, that is impossible. I’ve never seen it.”
Actually, as many analysts noted, we have seen that play in a similar circumstance. It was the exact play Reid ran to help lock up the Miami game when his team faced fourth-and-1 from the Dolphins’ 40 with 2:01 to play. But again, that call came with Mahomes on the field.
That’s why Sunday’s move was so bold. It’s why no one could deny the enormity of Big Red’s … uh, belief. When much of the football world was screaming punt, Reid was telling his offense to put this one away.
Henne helped the Chiefs do just that, executing the decisive play was the same cool efficiency that Mahomes would have.
Reid didn’t seem the least bit surprised. He said the entire team had confidence in the veteran backup, who benefitted from playing the Week 17 regular-season finale. Reid also noted that KC’s coaches and quarterbacks go through “fourth-and-1-to-win-the-game” situations each Saturday night before game day.
“When you’re around him, you just know,” Reid said when asked what gave him faith that Henne would succeed.
Let’s also not forget that Henne was responsible for giving KC the option to go for it in the first place. His determined scramble on third-and-14, a scramble that culminated with a head-first dive into a Browns defender, left the Chiefs within a foot or so of the first-down marker.
If the Chiefs are able to complete their #RunItBack mission this year, Henne’s bolt no doubt will occupy a place in franchise lore.
“I think we’ll all remember that run and the dive and the throw,” Reid said.
No question, we will. But we also will remember the Big Red decision that was sandwiched in between Henne’s run and throw.
Granted, not every Reid move is a gem. In fact, plenty of critics (including yours truly) ripped Reid and the Chiefs earlier in the game for the third-and-short option play that resulted in Mahomes’ head injury — especially when the star QB already was nursing a sore toe.
Reid also has a tendency to get too cute on occasion, displaying many of the bells and whistles that are a product of having the likes of Mahomes, Hill and Travis Kelce on the same roster. And you’ve got to think that one of his gutsy decisions eventually will backfire at some point, don’t you?
But on Sunday, the Chiefs continued to rule with a coach who trusts his players, his preparation and his playbook during the most high-risk moments of high-reward games.
