A touch of magic… or wild irreverence? Leaders divided football fans with ‘snow globe’ tactic in Raiders win, as some announcers say ‘insane genius’ coach Andy Reid while others now hope Patrick Mahomes and the his team will ‘humble in the playoffs’
Football fans were left bewildered and impressed in equal measure by the Chiefs’ turn in a huddle before a game against the Raiders on Saturday night.
It happened late in the first half, with 1:02 left on the clock in the second quarter of Chiefs vs Raiders on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium, deep in Raiders territory.
After the Raiders’ timeout, the Chiefs gathered in a huddle and spanned around in a circle before finally separating and lining up in a new formation.
Jerick McKinnon, who scored the first touchdown of the night, took the snap and threw it to Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs had a huddle before the game in Saturday’s 31-13 win over the Raiders
From there, quarterback Mahomes found Kadarius Toney for a touchdown but, painfully, the play was ruled out due to a penalty.
The Chiefs weren’t to be denied for long, with Toney reaching the end zone on the next play after an 11-yard run to extend the team’s lead to 21-3.
‘Is the rotating huddle/formation supposed to keep the defense from ID-ing where Mahomes is? So they were surprised when McKinnon pitched it and the guy with the ball in his hands was a passer?’ suggested one viewer.
But many others thought it was a disrespectful move by the team.
‘This is wildly disrespectful,’ said one fan, while another wrote: ‘Raiders are a joke.’
Another take saw a fan write: ‘Can’t wait for this team to humble themselves in the playoffs.’
However, there is praise for Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
Only one fan said: ‘Andy Reid is an insane genius’ and another amusingly posted: ‘I’m trying to imagine how this was discussed at the Chiefs practice. Andy Reid: Have you ever played with a rosey pocket ring full of poseys? Guilt: Say less.’
Speaking after the game, Mahomes revealed that it was actually drawn by the Chiefs players instead of Reid.
“So we call it a snow globe, we drew it before Christmas and we practiced it as a distraction but the coach said ‘I want that,'” Mahomes explained. ‘We put it in the game plan and it worked!’
We talked about it on the side- “Let’s see if we can get some confusion going and throw something back”. It worked. We only had a holding penalty. We’ve got some good stuff going into the playoffs, and whatever run we make has to work.’
Reid added: ‘”You do (want to make it fun), but you want to score, too. It’s not fun when you don’t do that.’
Mahomes later explained that the Chiefs players came up with the plan first but Reid approved
Saturday’s 31-13 win for the Chiefs was especially poignant for Reid because it marked his 10th anniversary as Chiefs coach.
It also saw quarterback Mahomes set a new all-time NFL record for most offensive yards – 5,570 – surpassing the record held by Drew Brees with the New Orleans Saints.
The Chiefs are 13-3 AFC West winners and the victory over the Raiders means Reid’s team has won five straight entering the postseason.
They have a bye in the playoffs after sealing the AFC’s first seed with a win on Saturday.
