The Kansas City Chiefs have so many different ways to gash opposing defenses.
They can let Patrick Mahomes work his magic, instinctually scrambling away from pressure, pirouetting in the backfield and effortlessly flipping an accurate pass downfield. They can put the ball in Travis Kelce’s hands and let him extend his case as the NFL’s top tight end. They can look to any number of valuable receivers and tailbacks to keep defenses honest once they think they’ve keyed on on Kansas City’s star players.
And, of course, they can mesmerize division rivals with a spinning huddle.
OK, wait. That last one is new. But it works. Kind of.
So this just happened? 😂
📺: #KCvsLV on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/nMh7vXuCB4 pic.twitter.com/rbasxmK9yJ— NFL (@NFL) January 7, 2023
The Chiefs did a second-and-three ring-around-the-rosy in their own huddle, then rushed up to the line of scrimmage with Mahomes in the backfield and tailback Jerick McKinnon to take the snap. McKinnon faked a handoff, ran left, then pitched the ball back to his quarterback, who tossed it to Kadarius Toney in the opposite direction. Toney broke a couple tackles and ran into the end zone — only for the play to be nullified by a Creed Humphrey holding penalty.
Here’s the play in its entirety, without the huddle in question but with a quick frame of analyst Louis Riddick pointing down to the field and trying to figure out why the Kansas City backfield had suddenly become a whirlpool.
One play later, Toney took a sweep to the same side of the field 11 yards for a touchdown. So while the spinning huddle didn’t count, it also didn’t matter. In the long run, it simply gives opponents one more wrinkle to consider when facing Mahomes, Kelce, and the high impact coaching combination of Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy.
