Vikings vs. Chiefs: Damien Williams leads the top 5 plays

The Kansas City Chiefs came up big in all facets of the game against the Minnesota Vikings and the top plays on Sunday reflect exactly that.

The Kansas City Chiefs came up with a big home win on Sunday afternoon against the visiting Minnesota Vikings, one that overturned the negative momentum that had been building in the wake of recent losses (three of their last four) and significant injuries (Frank Clark, Patrick Mahomes, Eric Fisher, et al).

Let’s look back at the five biggest plays of the game, beginning with the longest play from scrimmage on the day.

1. Damien’s dash

Damien Williams needed this game.

Coming into today’s game, Williams had a very unimpressive 48 carries for 100 rushing yards, good for a miniscule 2.1 yards/carry. Today, he topped that figure in a single afternoon with 125 rushing yards on 12 carries, much of it coming on this incredible touchdown run that came midway through the third quarter.

With that play, Williams once again showed the sort of burst and high-end speed that made him such a strong asset down the stretch for the Chiefs in 2018. Hopefully he can get back to that same game now that the team is in the second half.

2. Tyreek Hill’s physicality

Plenty of ink is spilled over Tyreek Hill’s incredible speed (and even in this game, Tyreek’s top speed was the talk of Twitter), but not nearly enough is said or mentioned about the complete nature of Hill’s game as a wide receiver, including his physicality or ability to track the deep ball.

On this play, Hill not only has to adjust to the throw but does so beautifully while covered by Trae Waynes. Then he goes up as the undersized pass catcher and wrestles it away as if he’s the one towering over the defender. The timing of this play as part of the second-to-last drive late in the 4th quarter (immediately after Hill had caught another 11-yard catch) only makes it all the more impressive.

If you’ve been watching Tyreek Hill for a while, you know he’s made the leap to elite wideout for some time now, but many of the league’s casual fans are still catching on to the fact that Hill isn’t just a deep threat with historic speed. He has all the same traits that make others like Julio Jones or DeAndre Hopkins household names.

3. Chris Jones, human forklift

Look, Emmanuel Ogbah got the credit for this quarterback sack and there’s every chance that he would have come up with even without Chris Jones’ involvement on this play. Ogbah has showed a nice burst this season as the team’s sack leader overall, and on this play, he got the best of his rival and had Kirk Cousins in his sights.

However, this play is all about Chris Jones and for good reason. Check out the forklift impersonation he does using Pat Elflein as his pallet.

Let’s just say this: Elflein is a 6’3, 303 lb. center. He was a third round pick as recently as 2017 and made the league’s All-Rookie team. Two years later, Jones is lifting and moving him backward on the field of play as if he’s a large batch of inventory to be placed on a shelf somewhere. It’s incredible!

Elflein gets pushed into Cousins who gets hit by Ogbah at the same time and suddenly Chiefs Kingdom got a taste of what has been missing ever since Jones has been sitting with a groin injury.

4. The game-winner

On a day in which Harrison Butker had already come up big against the Minnesota Vikings (he would finish 4 for 4 on field goals), he saved his best for last. Let’s recall it once again:

This is the stuff dreams are made of. What kicker doesn’t envision exactly this. It’s a win-at-home scenario in a season in which the Chiefs have had a tough go of it at Arrowhead. The clock is ready to hit zero. The opponent is a playoff-caliber foe with real dreams of Super Bowl glory. The team has been beat down in the last month with three losses in the last four games.

Suddenly, Butker has a chance to cap a day in which he’s already hit a 54-yard attempt to tie the game and this is the result. It’s a beauty, to be sure, and a memorable moment for everyone in Chiefs Kingdom.

5. Back to Tyreek 

Once again, Trae Waynes is on the receiving end of Tyreek Hill deep ball. This one actually came before the other and served as the first score for the Chiefs on the day in the first quarter to put the home team up by seven.

Hill was certainly a big hero on the day and catches like these illustrate why the team worked so quickly to sign him to an extension even after a dramatic offseason. He’s impossible to defend and his ability to make impact catches like this more than once per game is what turns the tide in the Chiefs direction each time.