Andy Reid Says Chris Berman Sent Him the 90-Year-Old Play That Capped a Chiefs Blowout
The oldest thing in the Chiefs' Week 1 game plan arrived through ESPN's Chris Berman. Andy Reid said the longtime broadcaster sent him the 90-year-old play Kansas City used in its Monday night blowout of the Denver Broncos.
No one needed the antique to win. The Chiefs led 14-7 at halftime, then pulled away from Denver for a 21-point win in the Monday Night Football opener, their first game of the season. Denver's offense never built anything to protect. Bo Nix went 17-of-28 for 131 yards, one touchdown and one interception, was sacked four times, lost one of his three fumbles and finished with a 69.2 passer rating. That's 4.7 yards per attempt, against a defense that could sit on everything.
Kenneth Walker III and Kansas City's running game dominated the Broncos, according to CBS Sports. Alex Singleton made 15 tackles for Denver, which tells you how often the Broncos' defense was on the field and how little it changed the result.
Which brings it back to Reid. A 90-year-old play isn't a gimmick in his hands. It's a test of whether the other team did its homework. He's spent a career collecting football from every era and every source, and he'll take an idea from a broadcaster if the idea is good. That's the real competitive advantage in Kansas City: not one clever call, but a head coach who treats the whole history of the sport as available personnel.
Denver found that out in Week 1. The Broncos got a clean look at what the Chiefs are and still couldn't slow it down.
My read: the trick play got the headline, but the blowout was built at the line of scrimmage, and that's the part the rest of the AFC West should worry about more. Kansas City won by 21 with the razzle-dazzle as garnish. Reid will keep reaching back a century for ideas, and teams that can't stop the ordinary stuff will keep getting buried by the unusual stuff.
