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Adam Teicher
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Moments before the Houston Texans were to attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter of their divisional round playoff game, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal approached special teams coordinator Dave Toub on the sideline and told him he was going to block the kick.
Chenal did just that. In doing so, he kept the Chiefs’ lead at two scores and 11 points rather than a precarious eight points and one score ahead of the Texans.
It’s the kind of play the Chiefs made many times this season in close games to run their record to 17-2 (including playoffs) and advance to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, where they will face the Philadelphia Eagles (Feb. 9, 6:30 p.m. ET, Fox).
“That’s kind of the attitude that these guys have and it’s not just him,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of Chenal. “It’s all these guys. When given an opportunity, they’ve stepped up in those situations and as a coach, you love that part and you know that’s a rare thing. These games could’ve gone either way [and] they take so much pride in stepping up and they don’t shrink in those situations.”
The Chiefs have won an NFL record with 17 consecutive games decided by one score. The streak includes five games from the 2023 season, 11 in the 2024 regular season and the Chiefs’ 32-29 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game.
At times, the Chiefs benefited from some luck. Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely stepped on the end line by an inch rather than got his foot down in the end zone on the final play of the season opener, preserving Kansas City’s seven-point win. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell dropped a snap without being hit when the Las Vegas Raiders were in field-goal range late in the fourth quarter in Week 13 against the Chiefs. The Chiefs recovered the fumble to win by two points. Chiefs kicker Matthew Wright banged a field goal off the upright but then through the goalposts for the winning points on the last play of a two-point win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14.
In many other cases, it’s been the Chiefs making a play to save a game. The Chiefs stopped two Atlanta Falcons drives on downs inside the 20 late in the fourth quarter in Week 3 to preserve a five-point win. They blocked a field goal — also Chenal — on the final play to claim a two-point win over the Denver Broncos in Week 10. They ran out the game’s final 3:41 by gaining two first downs to beat the Texans by eight points in Week 16.
“It takes everybody and we’ve done it so many different ways now that we just have full trust and the coaches have trust in the players, players trusting the coaches and we go out there and execute our jobs,” Patrick Mahomes said. “When you’ve done it over and over again and it becomes habit.”
The Chiefs made key plays in all three phases in the AFC Championship Game. None was bigger than a defensive stop on fourth-and-5 with two minutes remaining and the Bills near midfield. The Chiefs blitzed and Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen had to throw quickly. Tight end Dalton Kincaid almost made a diving catch but the pass instead was incomplete.
“All year we’ve been building that,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “We work through situations throughout the year, practice late-game situations, two-minute situations. So for us, it’s just another play. we’re very confident and we trust in [defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] to put us in the right position to make a play.
“These games are very familiar to us, we’re used to being in these types of situations. We feel very calm, we feel very at peace with what we’re running — the speed of it, the pace of it — and the playcalling.”
The Chiefs’ Nikko Remigio returned a punt 41 yards in the second quarter to set up a touchdown drive. On offense, the Chiefs picked up two first downs after Buffalo’s failed fourth-down play to kill the clock and deny Allen and the Bills another shot with the ball in a three-point game.
“When you win so much in this league, you line up every week and you are getting teams’ best shot, week after week,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said. “Everybody when they play us and they come to Arrowhead or we go to their stadium, it is kind of like a litmus test for where their organization is: ‘OK, we are playing (against) the Chiefs. How good are we? Now we’ll see.’
“We are getting their best every week, even when we are not at our best. I think that kind of builds character and it builds toughness. We are going to see the best teams have to offer, week in and week out.”
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