Down 22-19, the Kansas City Chiefs faced fourth-and-1 against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Patrick Mahomes gained 8 yards on a surprising scramble, securing the first down and setting up the game-winning pass to Mecole Hardman a few plays later.
Mahomes recently appeared as a guest on The Peter King Podcast, speaking with the host about the timeout before the pivotal play.
“Yeah, I wish I could take all the credit, but it was crazy. So, we were going through our plays, trying to decide if we were going to run or pass, and we had a couple of run plays kind of dialed up,” said Mahomes. “We had already had a lot of short-yardage situations in the game, and we were trying to find that perfect play.”
The daunting prospect of possibly losing the Super Bowl on a fourth down play didn’t worry the Chiefs players. According to Mahomes, veteran wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling suggested the play for the big moment.
“It was actually MVS that came up to the huddle on the side and kind of said, ‘Hey, let’s go slide keys,'” Mahomes said. “Which is wild because it’s not really a play designed for him; it’s a play designed for Travis (Kelce) and Rashee (Rice). When he said it, it clicked for me; I was like, ‘That’s it. That’s perfect.'”
Valdes-Scantling’s selfless suggestion showed his support for his teammates to get the job done. The bootleg play had an option for Mahomes to pass to Travis Kelce or Rashee Rice.
“I told Coach (Andy Reid), ‘If it’s not there, I’m going to run for it,'” said Mahomes. “He trusted us to go out there and cover. It was zone coverage, and once I got outside and saw room to run, I just went and got it.”
The Chiefs pulled off their third Super Bowl win in five seasons, establishing their run as a dynasty. Valdes-Scantling’s contribution is another way his value stretched beyond the stat sheet.