The Kansas City Chiefs may have salvaged their season and resurrected their playoff hopes on Sunday, erasing an 11-point deficit to defeat the Indianapolis Colts in overtime.
The win was critical for the Chiefs, who had fallen out of the playoff bracket after last week’s loss to the Denver Broncos — and could be especially costly for one Colts player. New addition Sauce Gardner was flagged for a facemask penalty while tackling Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, which could draw some additional punishment from the NFL in the coming week.
Penalty Led to Key Score for Kansas City
Gardner was flagged for the penalty while the Chiefs were driving down 11 points in the fourth quarter. Mahomes threw a 2-yard pass to Edwards-Helaire, and officials threw a flag on Gardner for his tackle.
The penalty put the Chiefs in the red zone, and they scored a touchdown two plays later on a 2-yard plunge from running back Kareem Hunt. Mahomes found wide receiver Rashee Rice for a w-point conversion, bringing them to within a field goal.
Gardner could face a fine from the NFL, which reviews all plays and issues fines for illegal hits. Facemask penalties net a $11,593 fine from the league.
One Chiefs player could also face punishment for a hit earlier in that same drive. Offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia was flagged for an illegal blindside block, giving the Chiefs a 15-yard penalty and putting him in danger of facing a fine of his own.
Chiefs Found a Way to Win
Going into Sunday’s game, the Chiefs had been winless in one-score games this season after going undefeated last year. Mahomes had lamented the missed chances as the team fell to 5-5 after consecutive losses to the Buffalo Bills and then Broncos, but said the team found a way to seize those opportunities on Sunday.
âAll five of our losses felt like this game, where there were plays we could make and we didn’t,â Mahomes told reporters after the game. âYou can talk about it all day, but until you prove it, it doesn’t. We proved today we could make the plays.â
Chiefs coach Andy Reid praised his team for showing mettle and not flinching when they were down two scores in the fourth quarter.
âThe part I liked the best was the support the guys gave each other,â Reid said. âNobody flinched. Nobody was hanging their head. It wasn’t happening. They came out and they played, and they did it when it counted.â
Reid added that everyone in the organization has maintained a steady approach despite their season-long struggles.
âNobody has been hanging our head, going, âOh, no! Itâs over!’ That’s not been the mentality within our building,â Reid said. That goes for everybody. Everybody has had a piece of it, and it carried over onto the field.”
The Chiefs have a challenging schedule ahead, facing the Dallas Cowboys followed by the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers. They still have another game against the division-leading Broncos as well, giving them a difficult path to a playoff berth.
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