KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Are you ready for more Kansas City Chiefs trickery in Super Bowl LIX?
Whenever the Chiefs have won a Super Bowl with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes — three in the past five years — the offense has pulled off a trick play in the red zone that either scored or led to a pivotal touchdown.
In the first quarter of Super Bowl LIV, the Chiefs faced a fourth-and-1 snap against the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs unleashed “Shift to Rose Bowl Right Parade.” Before the snap, Mahomes, receivers Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson and running back Damien Williams lined up in a full-house backfield, all spun to the right. The offensive line, except for center Austin Reiter, also shifted slightly to the right. The play confused the 49ers for a moment, which was enough time for Williams, who received the snap directly, to gain 4 yards. He fell a few inches short of the goal line but earned an important first down. Mahomes finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter using the same trick: “Corndog” motion.
Inside the red zone, the Chiefs exploited a weakness in the Eagles’ secondary that they discovered while studying their cornerbacks’ tendencies. Early in the fourth quarter, receiver Kadarius Toney started his jet motion, which led cornerback Darius Slay to move toward the middle of the field. But when Toney reversed his motion, running his route toward the flat area of the field, he was wide open for a 5-yard touchdown catch. The Chiefs ended their next drive with a different variation of the play as rookie receiver Skyy Moore caught an easy 4-yard touchdown pass when cornerback James Bradberry made the same mistake.
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The Chiefs’ final snap of Super Bowl LVIII, an overtime victory over the 49ers, ended with Mahomes completing an easy 3-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mecole Hardman. Using the same “corndog” motion, Hardman went in motion to the left, then pivoted hard in the opposite direction. Tight end Travis Kelce, who was on the same side of the formation, was used as a decoy. Kelce attracted the attention of the 49ers’ last perimeter defender, cornerback Charvarius Ward, leading to a wide-open Hardman.
The @Chiefs climb all the way back! INCREDIBLE.
📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/d8gBDzRt2m pic.twitter.com/XtvvOEEKJE— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
Such memories led Pat McAfee, the former NFL punter, to ask Reid a very direct question Wednesday during his show on ESPN.
Even at this stage of the season, are we still drawing up ridiculous plays?
“Yeah, that’s the fun part,” Reid said. “I’ve got these coaches here that have creative minds. They love doing it, and we get the players involved, too. It doesn’t matter if it’s a lineman or a quarterback. If they’ve got something good, let’s put it out on the table and see what you’ve got.
“I’ve got 51 percent of the vote, but I’m still open-minded with it.”
The Chiefs are headed to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX, in part, because of their exceptional execution in the red zone against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game. Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy outwitted the Bills defense by having the Chiefs offense run plays they hadn’t shown all season.
The Chiefs’ first touchdown against the Bills featured a diamond backfield, with Mahomes between Kelce and tight end Noah Gray and running back Kareem Hunt behind the quarterback. The Chiefs executed a guard-tackle counter running play that also featured a run-pass option between Mahomes and Hunt, who scored on a 12-yard touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs ran the same play. Instead of handing the ball to Hunt, Mahomes kept it, seeing that defensive end Dawuane Smoot crashed down the line of scrimmage instead of staying near his spot to prevent a run to the perimeter. Mahomes sprinted forward and had Kelce and Gray as blockers to lead him to the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown.
Called his own number 😏 @PatrickMahomes pic.twitter.com/fTcXqW7znh
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 27, 2025
“I pulled some of those (run-pass option) reads I’ve had all season long, just because it’s the playoffs and you have to make sure the defense is true to what their rules are,” Mahomes said after Sunday’s game. “It’s about going out there and making plays. It’s always great when you have guys that are going to lay their body on the line in front of you.”
The Chiefs tried another specialty play against the Bills just before halftime.
For a second-and-goal snap from the Bills’ 3-yard line, Reid called for his players to run a modernized version of the most famous play call in the franchise’s 65-year history.
Mahomes gave his teammates the play call in the huddle: “Stram 65 Toss Power Trap.”
The play is named for Hank Stram, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Chiefs to an upset victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV in 1970. In the second quarter, Stram called the play that led to the Chiefs’ first touchdown. It was “65 Toss Power Trap.” The play became famous in part because Stram was the first coach to wear a small microphone to capture his words of inspiration and strategy during the sport’s biggest game.
“It might pop wide open,” Stram said on the sideline.
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Five yards away from the end zone and facing a third-and-goal play, Stram had receiver Gloster Richardson relay the call to quarterback Len Dawson, which surprised the Chiefs. Tight end Fred Arbanas and offensive lineman Ed Budde executed blocks that created a massive running lane for running back Mike Garrett, who scored with relative ease. The touchdown gave the Chiefs a commanding 16-0 lead before halftime. They won 23-7.
“We hadn’t even practiced that play much less run it in a long, long time,” Dawson told reporters then.
In Sunday’s win over the Bills, the Chiefs lined up in a similar formation to what the 1970 team used to score. Before the snap, the Chiefs shifted too, as Mahomes, Kelce, rookie receiver Xavier Worthy and running back Isiah Pacheco moved to the left.
“It’s a tribute to the old guys,” Reid said Thursday. “It wasn’t as good as the one they ran.”
The moment 65 Toss Power Trap was immortalized.
We’ll never forget Super Bowl IV against the Vikings 🏆 pic.twitter.com/1nDWvaxUn3
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 7, 2023
Unlike the original play, the ball was directly snapped to Pacheco, who followed guard Trey Smith, who pulled to the left, for a 2-yard gain.
“I wish we would’ve scored,” Mahomes said. “The history of that play and the history of this organization runs through this entire team. Getting that Lamar Hunt Trophy back at home is special for us. Being able to run that play — one that I’ve watched and one we have a room (in the training facility) named after — next time we’ll try to find a way to get it in the end zone.
“What’s cool about this organization is that we always go back and look at the history of it. If you look at Hank Stram and Len Dawson and all the Hall of Famers — there’s six Hall of Famers on that team — we learn about the history of the Chiefs. That was a huge moment for the organization. It starts with (club owner) Clark (Hunt). When you’re with coach Reid, you hear the best stories of all time.”
The question for the Eagles and analysts ahead of the Super Bowl is this: Will the Chiefs run a similar version of their modernized 65 Toss Power Trap or do something entirely different because they showed it in their last game?
Reid explained Thursday that he has watched every Super Bowl and understands that a well-run specialty play can be remembered in NFL history.
If the Chiefs pull off another trick play against the Eagles, Reid made sure to share that there will be one difference between him and Stram: He won’t be wearing a microphone.
“Yeah, I’m not big on that,” Reid said.
(Photo of Patrick Mahomes and Mecole Hardman in Super Bowl LVIII:
Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
