KANSAS CITY, Mo. – You just knew they were going to win. The Chiefs knew they were going to win. The fans at Arrowhead Stadium knew it. Perhaps most of the millions of people who watched “Sunday Night Football” on NBC did, too.
Love them or hate them – or are just sick of them – the Chiefs won again in another close game that left their opponent, this time the Los Angeles Chargers, shaking their heads.
The Chiefs are a circus act of the highest level. They don’t just perform the trick of winning one-score game after one-score game. No. They must increase the danger, reduce their chances of a successful landing and find a new way to escape shame.
“As long as we have an opportunity to go out there and have the ball and make a play happen, I feel like we’re going to make it happen,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said.
Instead of a comfortable, dominant victory over a division rival, the Chiefs blew a 13-point lead in the second half before Mahomes became a magician in the game’s most critical moments and once again led his teammates to a dramatic comeback- victory led, 19-17. above the chargers.
However, Mahomes did not score the winning points. Coach Andy Reid, once he had driven the offense into the red zone, decided to have Mahomes kneel twice before calling a timeout with one second left on the clock to set up a game-winning field goal for Matthew Wright, the third series of the Chiefs. kicker. Then Reid decided not to watch Wright attempt his 31-yard kick. Reid kept his face forward as if staring into a void. The joke was on Reidwho was told the ball hit the inside of the left upright before passing through. The moment made starting kicker Harrison Butker – out with a left knee injury – smile and laugh.
“Obviously I wanted it to go right down the middle,” Wright said. “I’m just glad he went in.” … I don’t like to think about hitting the upright.”
Unreal 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Wx4a3YhaR1
—NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2024
Within minutes of winning the game, Wright was on the field for NBC’s postgame interview alongside Mahomes and pass rusher Chris Jones. Wright, who joined the Chiefs two weeks ago, was one of the first players to wear a fresh new black ballcap, the commemorative item honoring the team that was crowned AFC West champions for the ninth consecutive season.
The Chiefs entered Sunday with 14 straight wins in games decided by one score, the longest streak in NFL history.
GO DEEPER
Takeaways NFL Week 14: A red flag for Bills defense? Should Falcons bench Cousins for Penix?
But as the Chiefs look to earn an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl win, this season has been all about the team’s last-second victories, each one seeming stranger than the last. Including Sunday, half of the Chiefs’ 12 wins this season were decided on the final play – Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely’s right big toe was out of bounds instead of a touchdown as time expired, Butker’s game-winning kick over the Bengals, running back back Kareem Hunt’s overtime touchdown over the Buccaneers, linebacker Leo Chenal’s diving block in the win over the Broncos and Spencer Shrader’s field goal over the Panthers.
“I’d much rather have it be this way — and win games and find new ways to win — than lose them,” Travis Kelce said. “If you look at last year, one of the biggest things was the ability to calm the storm around us and focus on us and keep getting better. This is just another version of that, trying to find ways to win and keep finding ways to get better, so at the end of the season we’re playing our best ball.”
This “What about them Chiefs!” means even more 🏆 pic.twitter.com/huqt8s9QKh
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 9, 2024
The Chiefs offense still isn’t buzzing. For the second week in a row, the Chiefs scored just one touchdown. Using veteran DJ Humphries at left tackle did not solve the offensive problems. Humphries did his best to help stabilize the offensive line, but Mahomes was hit by a season-high 13 times by the Chargers. Given the circumstances, Mahomes was still brilliant when he needed to be, especially when he was hit or about to be hit.
“We played a lot of good defense,” Mahomes said. “That’s the only bad thing about winning the Super Bowl: You play the best schedule. We played a lot of good defensive ends, defensive linemen. For myself, it’s just finding the weak spot in the pocket. On some of the early third downs I was running into a little bit of (pressure). I thought I did better as the match went on.”
GO DEEPER
NFL Playoff Photo, Week 14: Bucs regain NFC South lead; Eagles clinch playoff berth
The Chiefs’ final drive began with less than five minutes remaining. Mahomes was put at a disadvantage: He would be forced to pass the ball over and over again, and the Chargers knew they would have plenty of opportunities to rush him in hopes of generating a negative play or a game-winning turnover.
That’s when Mahomes was at his slickest. On third-and-10 from the Chiefs’ 4o-yard line, Mahomes evaded three defenders in the pocket, shifted left and leapt to complete a 14-yard pass to rookie Xavier Worthy.
Mahomes stuff 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/fFF1YhaamM
—NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2024
According to TruMedia, Mahomes has added a total of 50 expected points on third and fourth down plays this season. No other quarterback has added more than 33 expected points (Buffalo’s Josh Allen).
But after the next snap, the difficulty increased for Mahomes: Humphries left the game with a hamstring injury. He was replaced by Wanya Morris, a second-year player who allowed 11 pressures on 48 pass-blocking snaps in the Chiefs’ win over the Las Vegas Raiders the week before.
Free, daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.
Free, daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.
To register
“I wanted to show why I was there in the first place and why this team trusted me,” Morris said. “It’s certainly good to put the past week behind me, but not to forget the shame I felt. I think that is very essential for my growth.”
Mahomes’ final third down snap started at the Chargers’ 20-yard line after the two-minute warning. With the Chargers having exhausted their timeouts, some teams may have opted to run the ball to keep the clock running. Before the Chiefs’ third-and-7 snap, Mahomes said one sentence to Reid to convince him to call a pass play.
“I’ll make something happen,” Mahomes told Reid.
When there is a game to be played, 1️⃣5️⃣ makes the game. pic.twitter.com/TIEKFwmPgk
—NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2024
Mahomes made sure the Chargers never got the ball again. He rolled to his right and waited long enough — and eluded linebacker Daiyan Henley — to find Kelce for a nine-yard completion.
“I thought the Chargers did a good job,” Reid said. “They locked us out. That’s more of a (play against man-to-man coverage). Until then they played man. If they had done that, it would have been a great call.”
Not surprisingly, Mahomes was assisted by his wildcard teammate in Kelce, who improvised his route.
“He’s got to run a twisty route,” Mahomes said of Kelce, his face blank. “It is what it is. I went through my readings. As I was getting ready to run, I saw (No.) 87 sitting there in the middle of the field.
Kelce did not reveal what prompted him to change his route or how he did it to surprise the Chargers. Kelce did share that, unlike Reid, he saw Wright make the winning kick.
“Oh yeah, I saw it hit the upright,” Kelce said. “The bank’s open on Sundays, man.”
(Photo of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)