GLENDALE, Ariz. - Kansas City never led by 47 minutes Sunday night in Super Bowl LVII. The quarterback sprained his right ankle again just before halftime and the Eagles led by 10 points as Rihanna sang for the world, and though the momentum began to change in the third quarter, it was a tough task for the men ofAndy Reid.
So, with the ball at the Eagles 5-yard line early in the fourth quarter, in thirds and thirds, Reid looked at his score sheet and named a game he loved.
"Corn Dog", discurso de Reid.
Oh really. That was the name of the play.
sausage,with the formation of a game call side and a running side (ifpatricio mahomesdecided to deliver it) on the other side.
Reid Mahomes' first Super Bowl title came three years ago this month2-3 Jet-Chip-Wespe, long pass from Mahomes in the fourth quartertireek hillwho brought the team to life in the upset win over the Niners.
Philadelphia led 27-21 and the biggest game of the game pitted Reid and his offensive coordinator.Eric Bienniemy. A field goal wasn't good enough here, as KC had already allowed the stoic superstar four field goals from 60 yards or more.pull hurts, who played one of the best games of his life in the most important game of his life. To keep up with the pain, Mahomes needed touchdowns.
That's where this weird formation, much like Reid and forced movement, came into play. Two split wide receivers,JuJu Smith-Schusterto the left,khadius toneyTo the right. Two solid ends seated in the groove,Noah Gradelinks,travis kelceTo the right. Mahomes had all the power in his hands, and Reid trusted him to use it: it was more of a run call, but depending on how the Eagles cornerback did.kill darioplayed Toney, Mahomes was able to verify a pass. Reid was sure the check would come, but the reason he loved this game was because he knew Mahomes would make the right bet. He knew his quarterback wouldn't be greedy. He would choose the correct variant of Corn Dog, a clever game that his trainers have given the whimsical name.
"How many times have you made that play this year?" I asked Reid an hour after the game in his office in the cigar bar that was the Kansas City locker room.
"Hmm," Reid said, "this is the second time we've run it."
And this would not be a variation on the hot dog. The concept would actually win the Super Bowl for Kansas City. Remarkably (if the game ends at halftime), Kansas City rallied to beat Philadelphia 38-35 in one of the most exciting Super Bowls of all time.
One day, when Andy Reid's coaching book is written, there will be chapters on why players love to play for him and why coaches love to sit in his office by Arrowhead Stadium and come up with new ideas for puzzling defenses. smart. he did last week when he put together an excellent Philadelphia defense. "It's a lot of fun to play for the man," Smith-Schuster said Sunday night.
One thing I still don't understand: Why name the part?Sausage?
"Well," said Bieniemy, "we like to eat."
In Reid's office at State Farm Stadium Sunday night were his manager Bob Lamonte and his grandson Maverick. "What luck," Reid said proudly, waving at the boy. Maverick, son ofbritt reidHe, who is in jail for an accident that seriously injured a young woman in 2020, was riding with Andy Reid to the team's playoff race. The coach seems to be enjoying having Maverick on his side.
Reid, who turns 65 next month, has been bombarded with questions about his future all week. Jay Glazer reported Sunday on FOX that Reid will have to make a decision about his future after the game. so he postssausage,I asked him about it.
"Are you retiring?" I told him.
"I'm not," Reid said.
"Are you training again?"
"I intend to. Yes, God help me."
This was an exciting game for Reid because he's been fixing both franchises for the past quarter century. He coached the Eagles for 14 seasons, laying the groundwork for their long-term seriousness and coaching/teaching the current GM.Howie Roseman. Reid took about 10 minutes off before accepting the job coaching Kansas City in 2013. What a streak he had: Reid is the only coach in NFL history to have more than 100 wins with two different franchises. He has led Kansas City to three Super Bowls and won two in the past four seasons. Reid's 269ºCareer win - regular season and postseason - where he is one win behindtom landryfor fourth place on the all-time list.
But this was also a fun and meaningful win for their quarterback. Consider his three playoff games this season: he sprained his ankle against Jacksonville; he angered Reid by taking him to an ankle scan in a 27-20 win; survives 23-20 against Cincinnati in AFC title game with ankle problems; He leads his team down 10 points (for the second time) to win the Super Bowl after reinjuring his ankle. In the postseason, Mahomes played 85 percent of his snaps with a header to the ankle and completed 72 percent of his shots with a 114.7 rating.
There's another guy who had some tight playoffs and Super Bowl victories early in his NFL life:tom brady. Let's compare the two 27-year-old men. That's how old Mahomes is today.
Brady a los 27:57-14 overall record, three Super Bowl wins, 11-for-3 TD-to-INT ratio in postseason.
Mahoma el 27: 75-19 overall record, two Super Bowl wins, 35-to-7 postseason TD pick ratio.
It's not that different, is it?
This postseason marked Mahomes as a player of great talent and the spirit of Brady. As middle linebackerTJ EdwardsTaking down Mahomes on his last play of the first half, Edwards rolls Mahomes' injured right ankle. This game looked pretty bleak for Kansas City. The pain on Mahomes' face made every fan of the team and the quarterback vomit.
"I knew it wasn't good," Mahomes said.
But when we spoke 90 minutes after the game, it was obvious that Mahomes knew otherwise.
"Whatever it is, I didn't quit the game," he said. "This is the Super Bowl. Do you think I can get out of this game? We've got the whole offseason to get healthy. We only had two quarters to play and we had to find a way to win."
At halftime, 10 points down, Reid told his team: “Ten points. Ten points is not much. We're a little late." And Reid said the break was long enough for his team to calm down, but not before Mahomes andtravis kelcefired at the group.
Mahomes said he thinks his team is playing strong. "We don't play with our normal joy," he said. "I said don't let the moment get the best of you."
There were 48 minutes of real time between snaps for Mahomes, with plenty of time. Mahomes and the offense hit the mark, driving in 10 plays for 75 yards on the opening drive of the second half. Now it was 24-21. After the Eagles lost nearly eight minutes on their ensuing drive, the game's crucial drive came.
Kansas City turned downfield to the Eagles 5-yard line. third down. There are twelve minutes left in Super Bowl LVII.
Here's what Reid, his coaches and Mahomes thought with two split right receivers and two tight ends in their respective slots: We'll send Toney moving from right to left, then suddenly stop and snap back to go to his wide right position. . The coaches thought Toney's cornerback,kill darioin which case he would follow Toney, never thinking that Toney would stop moving and run back to his original point.
You were right. It was easy to see that Slay never thought Toney would turn around. Who does it?
Slay followed Toney and never adjusted when Toney turned around. Toney's resulting corner route gave him an almost unheard of 11.2 yards from the nearest defender. In a game this big, it's an incredible slip for the Eagles. “We knew they were going to let the guy from the Kadarius movement get away with it,” Mahomes said. All good then. But who would pick him up on the way back? Nobody.
"We work hard every day to get to know the [defensive] team," Toney said, "to know exactly how they're going to play us. We try to go out there and take advantage of that."
But one more thing: Mahomes' first read was the race forjerick mckinnon. The game design changed to pass if the corner went through the formation, instead of returning to Toney. When that happened, Mahomes switched to a pass. Perhaps the easiest TD move of his career. "Nice play against the man's cover," Reid said. "We rank high [on the sheet]."
Kansas City 28, Philadelphia 27. Eagles go three and three. So the Eagles punterArryn Siposhe tinkled an injured duck from a punt ("He just punted us wrong," said Toney, the former Giant), and the former Giant returned it 65 yards, to the five-yard line. Once again, with a big third loss in Eagles '10, Reid decided to play a similar game.Sausagecomsky mooreleft instead of right. Moore waved from the left, then quickly turned and ran back.
Incredible. The eagles were fooled again. Another open touchdown. At that moment I thought: Poorjonathan gannon. Philadelphia's defensive coordinator, who is scheduled for a head coaching interview with the Cardinals earlier this week, will enter that interview after allowing a 38th Super Bowl finalist and the easiest and widest TD passes ever, two! from them! - in low season.
"We've done a good job of making it beautiful," Moore said.
I should say this. Moore was just as open as Toney. Kansas City now led 35:27. The Eagles tied it with Hurt's incredible third TD run and his subsequent two-point run. With the score 35 to go, Kansas City had a great chance with 1:48 left in the game. Mahomes launched a third incompleteness and established aharrison butcher33-yard field goal - basically a PAT.
Aférrate. Flag.james bradberryhe was called to a defensive hold. Replays showed this happening, but it wasn't a blatant expectation. It doesn't matter. refereecarl cheffers, according to Pool reporter Lindsay Jones, called the flag "a clear case of shirt hoarding causing restraint." Bradberry admitted that he fouled Smith-Schuster, but that didn't stop Eagles fans everywhere from clamoring for the flag.
This gave KC another kill streak and the clock was reduced to 11 seconds. Butker's 27-yard field goal won with eight seconds remaining.
Big day for Reid. Big day for Mahomes. One of my most enduring memories of that game, aside from the acrid cigar smoke that will never rise from anyone in the Kansas City locker room after the game, will be of Patrick Mahomes reaching out to so many guys in the locker room to say thank you. He hugged leading TD scorer Moore, who has had a tough time this year, and said: “Was looking forward to the last game, huh? Loving You! How to get it!” I mean, what do you think it means to a rookie like Skyy Moore when a two-time MVP and Super Bowl MVP looks you in the eye, she hugs you and says that?
This game, without a doubt, marked Mahomes as the best and brightest quarterback, leader and center in the franchise. Eagles are close to pain. Very close. But Mahomes led that team to its second Super Bowl in four seasons. He seriously doubts he's done.