KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Are you ready for more Kansas City Chiefs trickery in Super Bowl LIX?
Whenever the Chiefs have won a Super Bowl with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes — three in the past five years — the offense has pulled off a trick play in the red zone that either scored or led to a pivotal touchdown.
In the first quarter of Super Bowl LIV, the Chiefs faced a fourth-and-1 snap against the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs unleashed “Shift to Rose Bowl Right Parade.” Before the snap, Mahomes, receivers Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson and running back Damien Williams lined up in a full-house backfield, all spun to the right. The offensive line, except for center Austin Reiter, also shifted slightly to the right. The play confused the 49ers for a moment, which was enough time for Williams, who received the snap directly, to gain 4 yards. He fell a few inches short of the goal line but earned an important first down. Mahomes finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter using the same trick: “Corndog” motion.
Inside the red zone, the Chiefs exploited a weakness in the Eagles’ secondary that they discovered while studying their cornerbacks’ tendencies. Early in the fourth quarter, receiver Kadarius Toney started his jet motion, which led cornerback Darius Slay to move toward the middle of the field. But when Toney reversed his motion, running his route toward the flat area of the field, he was wide open for a 5-yard touchdown catch. The Chiefs ended their next drive with a different variation of the play as rookie receiver Skyy Moore caught an easy 4-yard touchdown pass when cornerback James Bradberry made the same mistake.
The Chiefs’ final snap of Super Bowl LVIII, an overtime victory over the 49ers, ended with Mahomes completing an easy 3-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mecole Hardman. Using the same “corndog” motion, Hardman went in motion to the left, then pivoted hard in the opposite direction. Tight end Travis Kelce, who was on the same side of the formation, was used as a decoy. Kelce attracted the attention of the 49ers’ last perimeter defender, cornerback Charvarius Ward, leading to a wide-open Hardman.
Such memories led Pat McAfee, the former NFL punter, to ask Reid a very direct question Wednesday during his show on ESPN.
Even at this stage of the season, are we still drawing up ridiculous plays?
“Yeah, that’s the fun part,” Reid said. “I’ve got these coaches here that have creative minds. They love doing it, and we get the players involved, too. It doesn’t matter if it’s a lineman or a quarterback. If they’ve got something good, let’s put it out on the table and see what you’ve got.
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