Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid came under fire for a decision that cost his team dearly at the end of the first half of the AFC Championship.
The Chiefs ran a swing pass to the flat from the one-yard line with five seconds to go in the first half, a curious decision to say the least. That call backfired, as Hill failed to get into the end zone and was tackled in bounds (video here). That cost the Chiefs the chance at a field goal, and they came away empty-handed in a game they eventually lost in overtime.
Reid was criticized for the play call, but others wondered why the Chiefs got greedy and went for it instead of just taking the three points. After the game, Reid indicated that he didn’t regret running another play with five seconds left, but admitted that the play he called was a poor one.
“I was hoping we could get the ball in the end zone. I probably gave him the wrong play first of all. I could’ve given him something better than that,” Reid said.
"I probably gave him the wrong play … could've given him something better than that."
Chiefs coach Andy Reid on the play call that ended the first half without a score. pic.twitter.com/Jubr0anbXB
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) January 30, 2022
The decision to run another play would have been defensible if the play call had made more sense. The Chiefs likely would have had another chance to kick had they run a quick pass into the end zone. In that instance, as long as Patrick Mahomes avoids an interception, the worst-case scenario is an incompletion.
Instead, the Chiefs ran a play that took too long and didn’t even target the end zone directly. In the end, it breathed new life into the Bengals and left points on the board that the Chiefs would wind up badly needing.
Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
