Trevor Lawrence joins brutal Chiefs Hall of Pain alongside Mariota and Luck

Well, I’m going to be having nightmares for months now. Thanks, Trevor Lawrence. I hope you’re happy.

The Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback carved the memory of himself into my brain forever on Monday night, scoring a ridiculous touchdown that lifted the Jags to a 31-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

With the Chiefs clinging to a three-point lead, the Jags had first-and-goal from the one-yard line with 30 seconds to go, needing a touchdown to win the game. What happened next was mortifying madness.

Lawrence tripped not once but twice, falling to the ground two times in his own backfield. But before a Chiefs defender could reach him, he got up and spun, scrambled to his left towards the end zone, broke a tackle, and dove across the goal line to score the game-winning touchdown.

I’ve heard of the triple option before, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen a trip option play in my life.

What would have happened if a Chiefs player had been able to touch Lawrence while he was on the ground? Would Kansas City have won? We'll never know.

It was a painful end to a game the Chiefs should have won and to a drive that saw Kansas City allow a 33-yard catch and give away a pass interference penalty in the end zone. That, coupled with the sheer lunacy of how the play itself played out, means Lawrence and the Jags have officially been enshrined into a place in the deep, dark corner of my brain: the Hall of Pain.

Every Chiefs fan has their own Hall of Pain. It’s a place that exists in your mind where all the insane, crazy, agonizing plays that have hurt the Chiefs over the years live in your memory.

You know, plays like the one where Dee Ford lined up in the neutral zone, negating what would have been an AFC Championship Game-winning interception? They hang out in the Hall of Pain.

It turns out the Hall of Pain has its own special AFC South corner. Lawrence’s touchdown run will hang right next to another ridiculous touchdown play by Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota.

The Titans were down by 18 points in the 2017 Wild Card playoff game against the Chiefs, before scoring 19 unanswered points to snatch an improbable 22-21 victory. The play that highlighted that comeback? Mariota’s touchdown pass to himself.

The Indianapolis Colts, meanwhile, have hung multiple playoff heartbreaks into the Kansas City Hall of Pain. First, there was the “no punt” playoff game in the 2003 Divisional round, which the Colts won 38-31.

Then, there was the great playoff capitulation from the 2013 season. The Chiefs looked like they were cruising to a road Wild Card win over the Colts when they went up by four scores, 38-10. Then, the unthinkable happened.

Indianapolis outscored the Chiefs 35-6 from that point on, with a 64-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Luck to T.Y. Hilton in the last quarter capping off the second largest playoff comeback in NFL history.

There have been recent additions to the Hall of Pain, too. The 2022 AFC Championship game against the Bengals was a total disaster, and a crucial tackle on the one-yard line that denied Tyreek Hill a touchdown is in there as it ignited the ensuing implosion.

There’s a moment from a Super Bowl catastrophe in the Hall too. Patrick Mahomes almost pulled off the most insane touchdown pass in Super Bowl history, a while-falling Superman throw that hit Darrel Williams in the facemask before falling incomplete.

Even a play that never happened is in the Hall, a crazy would-be touchdown lateral from Travis Kelce to Kadarius Toney that was called back because the latter lined up offside.

No matter how much time passes or how much success the Chiefs have, those haunting plays will always remain in the Hall of Pain.

In 10 years, Chiefs fans will be able to reference Trevor Lawrence's post-trip touchdown, and the memory will come flooding back.

Well done, Trevor Lawrence, you are now forever part of Kansas City Chiefs folklore. Great.