Chris Berman, 90-year-old play inspire Chiefs' latest goal-line wrinkle for TD

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County, including Independence. Share your story idea with Tod.

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It’s called “Heisman” — and its possible variations may give Indianapolis Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo a few sleepless nights in the week ahead.

The Chiefs drove the final nail in the Denver Broncos’ coffin Monday with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to running back Kenneth Walker III early in the fourth quarter.

It was the surest sign yet Andy Reid and the offense were having fun and are dialed in on the details that made their offense nigh unstoppable for much of the Mahomes era.

“Chris Berman sent me that play, so that’s a 1936’er right there,” Reid said. “Honestly, it was a great play. They executed it well. We’ve run it before, just not that smooth.”

Backup quarterback Justin Fields lined up next to Mahomes in the backfield with tight end Travis Kelce at fullback, offset to the left, and Walker split tight to the left of the formation.

Reid and Mahomes popularized misdirection pop passes between the tackles at the goal line in recent years, but the league copied it and eventually caught on. Such gadget plays have waned in effectiveness in recent years for Kansas City’s offense, but the new wrinkle worked spectacularly.

“The film we watched was probably from 1900, so it was hard to see,” Walker said. “But we worked it over and over in practice, and we felt like that was going to work — and it did.”

Reid famously has a love for history, which has shown up on the field before.

“You should have seen the tape on it,” Mahomes said of the Heisman play. “... I can’t remember who exactly ran it, because it was in black and white and it was all scratchy when we were watching it.”

The scary part for Anarumo and other defensive coaches with the Chiefs on the schedule?

“Hopefully, that can set some stuff up,” Mahomes said. “Justin’s got a lot of ability, running the ball and throwing it as well, so hopefully that’s just the first iteration of it.”

The Chiefs acquired Fields from the New York Jets in an offseason trade.

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