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The Kansas City Chiefs are just a few days away from hosting their second straight AFC Championship and a just a win away from going to their second straight Super Bowl.
While their numerous star players, leading with Patrick Mahomes, are much to thank for this bout of success there’s also something else that deserves a ton of respect and might be the reason why they lived to see another day this year.
I’m talking, of course, about Andy Reid’s big, beautiful guts. And I don’t think we’re talking enough about that enough, especially after what he did on Sunday.
With Mahomes out and the and the Chiefs facing a 4th and inches from around midfield, Reid did what he has been doing best – he trusted his players to make plays and didn’t hesitate to give them the power to pull it off.
I mean, who else would put Chad Henne in a shotgun formation in that moment and let him go out there and seal the game with a short pass to Tyreek Hill?
Andy Reid would and Andy Reid did, which absolutely blew Tony Romo’s mind during the broadcast and solidified Reid’s status as one of the greats in the game.
The Chiefs could have punted that ball away and hoped that their defense could stop the Browns. But when you believe in your guys you don’t even think about giving the other team a chance. Instead, you end the game right there and then. Reid’s decision was a thing of beauty.
The Chiefs, as I said before, are deadly because of the number of studs they have on both sides of the field. But the fact that their coach believes in them and is more than happy to put them in positions to make game-changing plays in big moments only makes this team stronger as it heads to another conference championship game.
Just a few years ago Reid was a running punchline about not being able to manage time correctly down the stretch of big games. That now feels like ages ago, doesn’t it?
The man known as “Big Red” by his players now has a Super Bowl under his belt and has everything it takes to win a second straight. You have to think if more crucial moments pop up this Sunday, or even in a few weeks in Tampa, he’s going to do what he did last Sunday – give his players the power to make things happen.
And for that, the Chiefs have an edge over the other three teams left in the playoffs.
The Chiefs have a coach who has been there and done that with this same group of guys.
The Chiefs have a coach who doesn’t fear the big moments.
The Chiefs have a coach who has a some pretty big stones.
And the Chiefs have a coach who has even bigger guts.
Quick hits: What are the Texans doing???… Brady’s sweet moment with Brees’ family… Harden says goodbye to Houston.
– Charles McDonald looks at the Texans and how their handling of Deshaun Watson has been a shining beacon of incompetence.
– If you missed this awesome moment between Tom Brady and Drew Brees’ family after Sunday’s game take a minute or two and watch this video. It’s awesome.
– James Harden tweeted a nice little goodbye note to the city of Houston just a few days after being traded to the Brooklyn Nets.