Well, I feel like a moron for doubting a future Hall of Fame head coach.
Last week, I was admittedly worried when reports emerged that Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid planned to start rookie offensive lineman Kahlil Benson at left tackle with regular starter Josh Simmons out injured.
I mean, what was Reid thinking to have an undrafted rookie who hasn’t played left tackle since high school block the blindside of a franchise quarterback making his first start back from a serious knee injury in the first game of his NFL career against a pass rush that had the most sacks in the entire league last season?
It seemed baffling and borderline foolish, but my goodness, it bloody well worked. Andy Reid, you're a genius.
Kahlil Benson was ready when the Chiefs called his number
Benson looked great in Kansas City’s statement 31-10 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. Lining up against Nik Bonitto, one of the NFL's top pass rushers with 14 sacks a year ago, Benson allowed zero on the night. Zip, nada, zilch. Not a single one.
Benson was called for a holding call on the opening drive of the game that negated a potential touchdown run by Patrick Mahomes, but overall, according to Pro Football Focus, he didn’t allow a single pressure on 33 pass-blocking attempts, with most of those in one-on-one situations. It’s hard to play much better than that.
After the game, Benson told reporters he was ready for the challenge at left tackle. “We prepared for this,” Benson said. “Throughout training camp, throughout my training. Even coming from high school up to this point here, wherever you’ve got to fit in, wherever you’ve got to play at, you've got to be ready to have your name called. And when that name is called, just know it is time to go.
“The confidence came from my vets and the coaches … being ready to just have fun and go out there and play free is one thing that we really do hone into. It was fun. Like I said, just got to be ready when your name is called, be ready to step up and play football.”
Andy Reid gave his rookie left tackle every chance to succeed
While Benson was excellent, something else that stood out to me was the way Reid and the Chiefs seemed to tailor their game plan to help out their rookie LT as much as possible. They put him in situations to succeed, rather than throwing him in the deep end to sink or swim.
More than half of Kansas City’s plays on offense were runs. That limited the number of pass-blocking situations Benson had to face, and it meant Bonitto and the Broncos had fewer opportunities to get to Patrick Mahomes. That’s smart football.
On the broadcast, ESPN’s Troy Aikman pointed out how the Chiefs would sometimes line Travis Kelce up between Benson and Bonitto on the line of scrimmage to either chip block or force the rushing lane out wider to give Benson more time. Again, that’s smart football.
A whopping 220 total yards on the ground at 5.8 yards per attempt on the back of Kenneth Walker’s 173-yard day meant Denver had to respect the ground game and couldn’t just rush the quarterback relentlessly, again giving Benson an advantage. It was beautiful to watch.
I was afraid Benson was going to be left on an island to fend for himself in, but those little gameplan wrinkles—combined with Reid’s willingness to consistently run the ball and Kansas City’s success at doing so—meant they gave Benson the perfect platform to shine in his debut, and oh boy, did he shine.
Starting Benson at left tackle turned a nightmare scenario into another coaching masterstroke. The loss of Simmons, last spring's first-round pick, to a back injury didn't ruin Mahomes' return like so many feared. Andy Reid, I’m sorry for not trusting you when I should have.
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