The Chiefs were widely applauded for their play-calling late in Super Bowl LVII, scoring consecutive touchdowns in the fourth quarter to erase what had been a 10-point halftime deficit. However, behind the scenes footage courtesy of NFL Films shows the latter of those touchdowns wasn’t what the Chiefs had in mind, with a miscommunication forcing quarterback Patrick Mahomes to think on his feet.
“The play was in the wrong formation,” Mahomes admitted to quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy on the Chiefs’ sideline. “I called it right. They lined up wrong.”
It’s unclear who or what was responsible for the mix-up, though you can see Mahomes’ confusion when Kadarius Toney points to his left, prompting wide receiver Skyy Moore to go in motion.
“I went to motion this dude on the other side,” said Mahomes, recounting a play that looked remarkably similar to the one they ran on the previous drive, except with Moore substituting for Toney on the opposite side. “KT pointed that way, I was like, ‘F--- it, I don’t know.’”
Rather than burn a timeout with the play-clock running down, Mahomes quickly diagnosed the play at the line of scrimmage, hitting Moore for a wide-open touchdown. “The zero was as clear as day,” said Mahomes, recognizing Philadelphia’s “zero” formation signifying an all-out blitz. “They were both stacked and he was walking in.”
If fans weren’t already frustrated by the Eagles’ second-half collapse, this footage will only rub salt in the wound, yielding a crucial touchdown on a play that probably shouldn’t have worked. Of course, that’s part of what makes Mahomes so brilliant, masterfully turning a broken play into six points.
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