The Chiefs were ready to get very creative to avoid forfeiting over an equipment mishap

Masconomet Regional High School nearly helped the Chiefs avoid forfeiture.

The Kansas City Chiefs had an equipment problem.

Ahead of the team’s Week 14 win over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, the Kansas City equipment staff realized they didn’t have 35 sets of equipment. They then quickly realized that equipment was in Newark, New Jersey.

Oops.

The error is funny now. At the time, it was a serious issue at the time. If the Chiefs couldn’t get their pads to Foxborough, they were looking at forfeiting their game against the Patriots, which would have proven costly in the playoff hunt (along with being very embarassing). The Chiefs ultimately got their equipment to the stadium on time. But they were prepared to get creative, if that equipment didn’t make it. They were ready to borrow from a local high school: the Masconomet Regional Chieftans.

Metro West Daily News had a terrific story on the situation.

The Chieftans and the Chiefs have almost the exact same helmet, and so Riddell, the company that makes the helmets, linked up Kansas City and Masconomet Regional High School. The only difference? The Chiefs have “KC” in their arrowhead — the Chieftans have an “M.”

Here’s what Metro West had on it:

“He told me, ’I really don’t have too much time to talk,” Daileanes said. ”‘But a bunch of the Kansas City Chiefs helmets and shoulder pads and other equipment are in Newark, New Jersey right now. There’s a big snafu. I need to get down to Masco, and if it’s possible could we use your helmets for the game?’”

The Riddell rep got a state police escort to Masconomet Regional High School. Daileanes notified a custodian who had been there working on Sunday morning, and that staff member led the Riddell rep to the Masconomet helmets.

And off to Foxborough they went.

“I just said it’s OK for him to get as many helmets as he needed,” Daileanes said. “They were trying to do the best they could to match it up to the Chiefs helmets.”

It probably would have violated an NFL rule. But the Chiefs would rather pay a fine than take a loss to the Patriots.

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