Did AFC Championship game memories haunt Chiefs in Indianapolis?

Perhaps what we saw on Sunday was the traumatic memory of the AFC Championship game haunting the Kansas City Chiefs.

With the clock winding down on the first half of Kansas City’s Week 3 game against the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday, the Chiefs made a decision. It was a decision that drew the ire of Patrick Mahomes, sparked an argument on the sideline, and has caused much debate throughout Chiefs Kingdom.

And while if it was the right call or not is still up for debate, I believe the call to play it safe was the result of another big decision the Chiefs made at the end of the half in another game not that long ago.

The decision

With 20 seconds to go on a 2nd-&-20 and the ball on their own 36-yard line, the Chiefs opted against a deep throw downfield, deciding on a running play to close out the half instead.

Mahomes was seemingly annoyed by the play call and the decision not to be more aggressive, with the star QB seen exchanging some tense words with offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

It was a tough call to make, with multiple reasons on both sides of the argument to either play it safe or to be aggressive.

With the best QB in the league on your team who has a seemingly endless highlight reel of big plays and incredible throws, it was frustrating to see the ball literally taken out of his hands.

On the flip side, the Chiefs had the lead and they were set to receive the ball to start the second half, so it was understandable to be conservative in that situation.

Whether it was the right call or not, I’m still not sure. But either way, I think that there was one big factor in KC’s call to play it safe.

The AFC Championship game

It is purely speculation, but I think that the way the first half of the AFC Championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals ended played a huge role in KC’s overly cautious decision to run down the clock in Indianapolis.

Although the situations aren’t exactly identical, the general theme of whether to be aggressive or not is the same.

Against the Bengals, just like last week against the Colts, the Chiefs had an option to either play it safe or go for it.

They chose the latter, and it backfired spectacularly. After failing to get into the end zone, all the momentum swung Cincinnati’s way, and the Bengals went on to roll KC in the second half.

I think the memory of that game definitely had an influence on the decision to play it safe. KC had the lead and would get the ball in the second half, why risk a potentially game-changing play the other way – a pick, a sack, or a fumble that would galvanize the Colts heading into the half?

It certainly didn’t work against Cincinnati, so why risk it?

The Chiefs threw two deep passes before opting to run the ball and neither came off, so it isn’t like they completely put the gun in the holster all together.

Sometimes Andy Reid, Bieniemy, and the Chiefs coaching staff are criticized for being too stubborn and not adapting. But I think in this instance, it was evidence of them learning from past experience.

You could certainly argue that regardless of what happened against Cincinnati, the Chiefs should always stay aggressive, and I’d agree with that. They have the best QB in the league in Mahomes, why not use him?

Why play it safe to end the half, just to go for a far, far riskier fake field goal later on? Perhaps the fake play was a somewhat desperate attempt to make up for a lack of aggression earlier in the contest.

What happened against the Bengals was a disaster, but what is the likelihood of that happening again? It wasn’t the decision to go for it that cost KC a trip to the Super Bowl, it was the disastrous second half full of miscues and coaching mishaps that did that.

Right or wrong, we’ll never know what would have happened had Kansas City kept its foot on the gas. But I think what we saw on Sunday was the traumatic memory of the AFC Championship game haunting the Chiefs.