NEW ORLEANS — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has said he’s dreamed about tossing a lateral to win the Super Bowl.
It’s not that far-fetched an idea.
In a Week 5 win over the New Orleans Saints, Kelce caught a pass over the middle well short of the yardage to gain on third-and-22. Instead of settling for a short gain, Kelce found teammate Samaje Perine running a few yards behind the play and pitched it to him, and Perine, with the better angle, bolted for the sticks, setting up a fourth-and-short.
It sounds simple in practice. It looked anything but in real time.
That play wasn’t scripted, but it was practiced, in that the players around Kelce have learned how to approach those situations and be ready for the ball.
“I’m very aware,” Perine said. “You’ve always got to be prepared for it. If you’re behind him, then look for the pitch. If you’re in front of him, then block.”
It’s that level of offensive creativity that permeates the entire Kansas City offense, and it will be something the Philadelphia Eagles will have to contend with in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.
“It’s great to have Patrick Mahomes,” head coach Andy Reid quipped. “He’ll be one of the greats, if not the greatest to have done it.
“I don’t want to slight the coaches or his teammates. He has some good players he’s able to deal the ball to, big offensive linemen that are helping them out … it takes a group.”
Part of what makes that group particularly lethal is its ability to put defenses in bad positions quickly and efficiently.
On another play perhaps more painful for Eagles supporters, the Chiefs ran a version of “Corn Dog” to score a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII. On that play, wide receiver Kadarius Toney moved quickly in motion toward the line as if to run a sweep, a crossing route, or perhaps even to block, before spinning back 180 degrees to run a route toward the pylon instead just as Mahomes took the snap.
Toney popped free and Mahomes threw him the ball quickly for the score, showing off his propensity for creativity and his embrace of the quick game at the same time.
According to Next Gen Stats, Mahomes led the league in both completion percentage (83.6 percent) and success rate (60.9 percent) on quick passes this season. Over his last four games, he’s been even quicker than normal, averaging 2.5 seconds to throw (versus 2.87 seconds to throw in Weeks 1-15).
The Eagles’ defense has been strong against short passes this season, but Chiefs defenders, having had to go against Reid and co.’s machinations all season in practice, caution against getting overconfident about what you’re seeing.
To wit, the Chiefs’ commitment to offensive creativity is so ingrained that their head coach has been known to draw up plays on the fly in practice to put his defense on its heels.
“They try things a lot, they experiment to see if things stick,” Chiefs safety Justin Reid said. “All through training camp, they’re playing around with formations, routes and just seeing what can work. I think that creativity is fun for the guys, it keeps it engaging, and every once in a while you actually find a good play out of it.”
“Training camp is honestly one of the hardest months of the whole season,” cornerback Trent McDuffie bemoaned. “One, you’ve got to battle Patrick Mahomes, you’ve got to play our fast receivers, and then Coach Reid will literally go draw a play in the dirt and they’ll run it against us. The things you see in training camp, you probably won’t see during the whole year, so it definitely makes it a challenge.”
The Chiefs’ defenders don’t envy the Eagles’ task this week, and much of it stems from their offense’s chemistry.
“Peanut butter and jelly,” Justin Reid said in describing the connection between Mahomes and Kelce. “These guys, the connection they have is real. The understanding of the game … but also their own connection and awareness that Travis will run routes, and if it’s not open they both understand what’s happening and he’ll be able to create something like backyard football and go out and make a play happen.”
“Their connection is unreal.”
–David Gladow, Field Level Media
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