The Kansas City Chiefs played one of the most exciting and infuriating games I have ever seen in Denver on Sunday night.
When the game was flexed into prime time I, like many of you, was concerned about the recent performances of the Chiefs in nationally televised games. My concern was heightened as I saw the offense struggle to move the ball and I nearly gave up as Phillip Gaines was torched. But none of it mattered as Justin Houston and Tyreek Hill came to play. Houston recorded 10 stops including a strip sack that resulted in an eventual safety. Hill became the first player since 1965 to get a rushing, receiving, and kick return touchdown in a single game.
Eventually it all came down to the foot of Cairo Santos who has been amazingly clutch in his few seasons in the NFL. He didn’t just win it with a nice kick down the middle though. No, he injected even more juice into an already heart-stopping game by hitting the upright first before it snuck in. He later jokingly said he called “bank” but forgot to tell holder Dustin Colquitt. Yeah Cairo nice kick, don’t ever *bleeping* do it again.
The game ultimately reminded me of my first real memory of Kansas City football. It was 1997 and the Chiefs hosted Denver late in the season for a pivotal AFC West matchup. The game was low scoring and needed a kick at the very end to win it. Pete Stoyanovich had a shot from 54 yards down by one point.
I remember my dad walking into his bedroom with a comment something like “This is the Chiefs, they can’t win these kinds of games.” He had been a fan since before the Super Bowl win and had seen a lot of Chiefs failure. But Stoyanovich nailed the 54-yarder with less than a yard above the crossbar. The Chiefs won and would go on to win the AFC West. Let’s hope this season has a better end than that ’97 season despite the similarities.