Late in the fourth quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs’ narrow Super Bowl win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Chiefs found themselves with the ball deep in Eagles’ territory and their best move was to run some time off the clock and kick a game-winning field goal. So when Chiefs veteran running back Jerick McKinnon got the ball and had an easy path to the end zone, he knew exactly what to do: go down.
If Jerick McKinnon had scored, the Eagles would have gotten the ball back with a chance to win or tie the game with much more time on the clock. So instead of giving them that opportunity, he simply went down to the ground and set up what would turn out to be a short game-winning field goal.
It was an extremely smart play and quick thinking on his part, and he told Harold R. Kuntz that he didn’t even hesitate to make the move.
“It wasn’t even a hesitation in my mind to score once I knew what situation we were in,” McKinnon said. “It’s just been a blessing, man. All the reactions from the fans, the people. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
McKinnon said that the decision came naturally because they practice that exact situation so often.
“We practice that every week,” McKinnon said. “I didn’t really think too much of it because that’s how we were coached. That’s how coach Reid coaches us. When that play came up, obviously, I didn’t understand the magnitude of it until after it happened to see everyone else’s reaction, it’s all been a blessing.”
It’s rare that choosing *not* to score helps your team more than scoring, but this is one of those times.
About Kevin Harrish