KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. He also covers the Chiefs as our game-day digital reporter. Share your story idea with Tod.
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It was getting late in the third quarter, and the Kansas City Chiefs trailed the Indianapolis Colts in a must-win game Sunday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Colts lined up on third-and-1 at their own 35-yard line, a potentially pivotal moment for a Chiefs team whose offense had stalled on the first two drives of the second half.
“We played sneak defense, as in quarterback sneak, so everybody was crunching in,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said.
But the handoff went to Jonathan Taylor, who bounced outside for a 27-yard gain that flipped the field and led to a field goal for a 20-9 Indianapolis lead with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter.
“There’s holes in every defense that you run,” Jones said. “He was able to find a hole, and he was able to break free.”
It was the only time Taylor — who finished with 16 carries for 58 yards, his second-lowest rushing output of the season — broke free against Kansas City’s defense.
“He’s a great player, now — one of Wisconsin’s finest,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s a heckuva football player ... [but] our guys did a nice job wrapping him up. You saw a couple of those where he bounces off, and he’s had quite a few of those this season.”
His two catches — which matched a season-low for a season-worst 8 receiving yards — weren’t a difference-maker for the Colts, but it looked as if that still would be enough in that moment.
But a funny thing happened on the way to another disappointing Chiefs loss: the three-time reigning AFC champs found their fourth-quarter mojo and finally eked out a one-score win.
Kansas City (6-5) won 23-20 in overtime to move above .500 and keep once-sagging playoff hopes alive.
Indianapolis went three-and-out on its last four possessions, including its only chance in OT, with Taylor — who entered the week fetching the third-best odds to win NFL MVP and remains the betting favorite for NFL Offensive Player of the Year — largely a non-factor.
The Colts handed the ball to Taylor on their first fourth-quarter offensive snap, but linebackers Drue Tranquill and Nick Bolton took him down for a 2-yard loss, one of his four runs for negative yards in the game.
The next play calls were passes as the Chiefs rallied to tie the game on a field goal as time expired.
Facing third-and-1 on the opening drive in overtime, Indianapolis tried once more to go to the Taylor well, which had worked well to start the second half.
But Kansas City was ready.
“We didn’t play sneak again,” Jones said with a hearty laugh. “I mean, I guess we learned something.”
Tranquill — whose three tackles, including two for a loss, all came against Taylor — knifed between blockers and into the backfield for a 2-yard loss, which forced a punt and set up the game-winning drive.
“I kind of knew it was going to happen,” Jones said of bottling up Taylor. “If you look at the track record throughout the year, at the running backs we’ve played, nobody has busted 100 yards on us — I think we had one runner who had 100 yards over us. We were committed to stopping the run, and we were able to get after the quarterback.”
Buffalo’s James Cook reached 114 yards on 27 carries in a Nov. 2 win at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, but Saquon Barkley, who had 22 carries for 88 yards in Week 2 against Kansas City, is the only other running back who has sniffed the century mark against Jones and company.
Taylor didn’t come close.
“All 11 — he’s explosive, he’s electric and, we watched tape on him, he can take it to the crib at any point from anywhere on the field,” safety Bryan Cook said. “It takes all 11 getting to the ball and putting a hat on him when we can. You have to strain to get to him, and even then you’ve still got to strain to get him down.”
Bolton, who led the Chiefs with eight tackles, was in on six tackles against Taylor, while Cook was part of four tackles, including chasing him down on the breakout run to prevent an even longer gain.
Tranquill and fellow linebacker Leo Chenal were each credited with three tackles of Taylor, while cornerbacks Chamarri Conner and Jaylen Watson helped bring Taylor down twice.
For the game, 11 of his 16 carries went for 2 yards or less.
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