Stop me if you have heard this before, the Chiefs have won the AFC West. Kansas City continues its division dominance by locking up its ninth straight title thanks to a 19-17 victory over the Chargers.
Despite the guaranteed top-four seed in the AFC playoff picture, this still feels like an oddball year for the Chiefs. They have now won 10 games this season by one score, including several in unlikely, last-minute fashion.
This week’s one-score victory was no exception, as backup kicker Matthew Wright was called on to boot the game-winner. He was charged with kicking duties because Harrison Butker and Spencer Shrader were out with injuries. Wright knocked through a 31-yard field goal as time expired, but even the short kick was a perfect example of how the season has gone for Kansas City.
NFL HQ: Live NFL scores | Updated NFL standings | Full NFL schedule
Matthew Wright game-winning ‘doink’ field goal
Wright’s sole purpose for the game was to kick field goals. Safety Justin Reid was used for kickoffs, so he didn’t have to worry about the new dynamic rules and possibly having to try to tackle a returner. The Chargers kicked a 37-yard field goal to take the 17-16 lead, but they left 4:35 on the clock.
Everyone knew that there was too much time for Patrick Mahomes. What was unanswered at the time was just how exactly the Chiefs were going to win. Mahomes did his thing and he picked up crucial yardage with his legs in addition to finding pass-catchers like Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce for important gains.
MORE CHIEFS:
- How Bills loss helps Chiefs in race for No. 1 AFC seed
- Why Justin Reid was kicking off for Kansas City
All of a sudden, Kansas City was on the 20-yard line. Mahomes found Kelce one more time, this time for what looked like a game-clinching nine-yard gain. After a couple of knee-downs, it was up to Wright to send the game-winning, division clincher through the uprights.
Wright made the field goal — barely. Typically, when doinks happen, the angle at which the football hits the uprights causes it to either fall straight down or carom in the wrong direction for a loud miss. Wright’s however, hit the left upright and ricocheted right and through the uprights.
In a historically “lucky” season where everything has gone Kansas City’s way in close games, this was just another example of “Tayvoodoo,” or the magic that seems to surround the team since Taylor Swift started dating Travis Kelce.
Star defensive lineman Chris Jones had an even better take during the postgame interview with NBC’s Melissa Stark, summing up why he liked playing in close games: “We keep the ratings, baby, keep the ratings.”
Mahomes and Wright couldn’t help but laugh at Jones’ tongue-in-cheek comment, but there’s no doubt the Chiefs do, in fact, keep the ratings…all the way to the final whistle.
Leave a Reply