Tag: fourth down

Chiefs HC Andy Reid wants to continue being aggressive on fourth down

The Chiefs converted a big fourth-down in Week 1 and that could be the new normal in Kansas City.

In the past, we might have seen a more tentative Andy Reid when faced with a fourth-down situation. Now, he appears to be letting it all hang out.

When the Kansas City Chiefs faced a fourth-and-1 at their own 34-yard line in the first quarter against the Houston Texans, what did Reid do? Uncharacteristically, he kept his offense out on the field and went for it. The results were a successful conversion for his football team. The drive would lead to the Chiefs’ first touchdown of the game and things just snowballed from there.

Reid’s decision drew universal praise and he spoke about the fourth down call on Wednesday.

“Well, listen, that’s one that could go either way and you know that,” Reid said. “So, if you don’t get it then you don’t look so good, but I just felt like we needed to do that there and I thought we had a good play, so we ended up doing it. I’m not going to tell you that we’d do that every week, but we’re going to try to stay as aggressive as we can on fourth downs. We’ve been pretty good at that over the years, but anyway, I just felt that was a subjective decision on my part, right or wrong. If you talk to stats people, analytics people, they’d tell you it’s the right thing. If you talk to other people, they might tell you something different, but I just felt in my gut that was the right thing to do.”

Reid is right, had the play gone sideways and cost Kansas City the game, the headlines would have probably read, “Baffling fourth-down call costs the Chiefs.” But it didn’t, and now he’s getting every bit of credit for his gutsy call. It was something that no team had done during the first quarter throughout the entire 2019 season.

From the sound of it, Reid will continue to be aggressive on fourth down calls throughout the 2020 season. But what has changed for Reid? Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes probably has something to do with it.

Mahomes has always maintained an aggressve approach on fourth down. He reiterated his stance from last season, that he’d go for it every single time if it were up to him. Perhaps Mahomes’ aggressive nature is rubbing off on Reid?

“I think the conversation happens during the week,” Mahomes said. “We prepare for those situations during the week and in training camp. Coach puts us in those situations so that when he calls the plays, we know exactly what we need to do and go out there and execute. If it’s up to me, I would want to go for it every single time. I just try to stay out there as long as possible. If it gives us the chance to go out there and make it happen, we’ve got to make it happen so that we get more chances later on in the year.”

Maybe this paradigm shift for Reid has something to do with his first Super Bowl win. He doesn’t have to chase perfection in pursuit of his first title any longer. He can afford to be a little more loose and gutsy with the play-calling in situations where there might be risk, but a greater reward. Whatever the case, an aggressive head coach is good for this offense and a welcome departure from what Kansas City has seen in previous seasons.

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The NFL adopting an alternative to the onside kick totally makes sense

This seems like a no-brainer.

Onside kicks are thrilling when they work in the NFL. But let’s be honest — they almost never do.

That’s why it’s a great thing that it seems like the league is seriously considering turning the Philadelphia Eagles’ alternative onside kick proposal into a reality.

The league will vote on potential rule changes that were proposed in March on May 28 and it seems that the main one gaining steam is the Eagles’ proposal. The rule change would allow teams to maintain possession by going for it on 4th-and-15 at their own 25 yard line instead of trying to recover an onside kick.

The league seems to be into it, according to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

This absolutely needs to happen. Not only would it be a safer, more sensical alternative to the onside kick. But it’ll also be more exciting, more often than not!

It turns out teams are pretty good at 4th-and-15 plays, according to data from NFL research.

This seems like a pretty good idea to me. High-octane offenses going for it on fourth and long with the game hanging in the balance? Sign me up.

Come on, NFL. Do the right thing.

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Bill O’Brien’s fourth down decisions may have doomed the Texans versus the Chiefs

Coach Bill O’Brien’s fourth down decisions may have been the big reason why the Houston Texans lost the lead to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Leading 21-0 and facing a fourth-and-1 from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 13-yard line, the Houston Texans were about to put the AFC West champions in a world of hurt on their home field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Lining up and seeming to go for it, the Texans called timeout. Perhaps they were going to get the correct personnel grouping they wanted for the fourth-and-1 attempt.

Instead, coach Bill O’Brien sent kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn on for a 31-yard field goal to extend Houston’s lead 24-0 with 10:54 in the second quarter.

After the Chiefs scored their first touchdown of the game, Houston faced a three-and-out after quarterback Deshaun Watson’s pass didn’t connect with receiver Will Fuller on a third-and-4 from the Texans’ own 31-yard line.

Here is where O’Brien decided to go for it, to make a bold statement, and it quite possibly turned the momentum of the game.

Kansas City safety Daniel Sorensen tackled safety Justin Reid, who took a direct snap from punt formation. The loss of two was a turnover on downs and the high octane Chiefs would have it at the Texans’ 33.

The Chiefs scored three plays later largely due to a 28-yard pass interference call against rookie cornerback Lonnie Johnson. The second touchdown drive was part of eight consecutive scoring drives with the final one being the lone field goal from Kansas City on that Sunday.

O’Brien needed to do something recapture the momentum that the Texans were starting to lose after Kansas City scored their first touchdown. Going three-and-out on the ensuing possession wasn’t ideal. However, there would have been no issue with punting it away and playing field position game, which maybe would have resulted in a punt or a field goal more likely than the Chiefs having it at the Texans’ 33.

The right fourth down call was fourth-and-1 from the Chiefs’ 13-yard line. If they would have failed, Kansas City would have been backed up inside their own 15, which would have tied for their second-worst field position of the game.