On Chiefs second-and-short plays near midfield, let’s give Mahomes a deep option when there’s room behind the defense. Andy Reid knows how he wants to handle the next two downs. A miss on second-and-one leaves a yard to get. Before Mahomes takes the shot, Reid should have his third-down call ready and know whether he’ll go for it on fourth. At the goal line with 15 seconds left, I care more about whether Reid can get the next snap off if the first play fails. The Denver and Jets games are perfect examples of why I’d call those situations differently.
Against Denver and the Jets, the Chiefs faced nine second downs with one to three yards to go and the score within eight points. Five of those nine snaps produced an immediate first down. Of the four times Kansas City faced third down, it picked up one first down on third and scored one touchdown on fourth. That’s seven successes in nine situations.
The nine snaps included four handoffs, four throws the gamebooks classified as short, and one Mahomes scramble. Reid’s call on the scramble is anybody’s guess, and Butker’s 56-yard field goal try was a separate decision. For those of us hollering for a deep ball, Xavier Worthy needed one yard and got 11 on a short throw. Emmett Johnson needed two and ran for 15. Tough afternoon for those of us calling plays from the couch.
How Chiefs Second-And-Short Calls Set Up Bigger Gains
Johnson’s 15-yarder came on a third-quarter drive with Kansas City ahead 17–13. Two snaps earlier, Kenneth Walker III had taken second-and-one at the Chiefs’ 46 and gained two. That modest conversion bought a fresh first down, which Mahomes used to hit Travis Kelce for eight. That eight-yard catch gave Denver its second Chiefs second-and-short play in three snaps. This time Johnson carried from the Broncos’ 44 to their 29. Three plays, 25 yards, two first downs. Denver never got a third-down snap in that stretch.
That sequence is why I’d hesitate to spend every second-and-one chasing a highlight. Walker’s two yards gave Reid three fresh downs and access to the whole playbook. The series also answers the obvious objection that Kansas City was playing it safe. Later on that same drive, Mahomes threw deep for Worthy on second-and-six from Denver’s 25. It fell incomplete. Reid was willing to take the shot. Converting earlier gave him room to choose when.
Against New York, the Chiefs got the same benefit through the air. On second-and-one from their own 44, Mahomes hit Worthy for 11. On the very next snap, a short throw to Rashee Rice gained 21. Kansas City covered 32 yards on two completions that the gamebook labels short. If that’s conservative football, I can learn to live with the boredom.
Two Missed Opportunities Had Different Price Tags
Only two of the nine situations ended without Kansas City earning another first down or scoring a touchdown. Both came in Denver. On second-and-two at the Broncos’ 27 with 32 seconds left before halftime, Mahomes threw incomplete. He missed Worthy on third down, and Butker kicked a 45-yard field goal. The first miss cost a down and five seconds. What made it affordable was that Kansas City already had a scoring opportunity in reserve.
The last possession offered no such cushion. Down 28–24, the Chiefs faced second-and-goal from the one with 15 seconds left. Mahomes threw incomplete under pressure. Walker got nothing on third down. A false start pushed fourth down back to the six, where Mahomes took a sack. There was no field behind the defense for a deep shot on second down, and a field goal was worthless. The second-down throw preserved time for another attempt. The problem was how quickly the alternatives disappeared once the third-down run failed.
Compare that with second-and-goal from the Jets’ three. Walker gained one, Mahomes scrambled for one, and Kelce ran for the touchdown on fourth down. Kelce got the last yard against the Jets. Against the Chargers, the Chiefs had also reached fourth-and-goal at the one, only for their fourth straight run to end without a point. The Chiefs had more than ten minutes left in the third quarter to work with. In Denver, they had 15 seconds. Both were Chiefs second-and-short plays, but only against the Jets could Reid count on having time for the next snap.
End Of My Chiefs Second-And-Short Rant
Second-and-one near midfield gives Mahomes room to take a shot. A miss still leaves third-and-one, and if the coverage takes away the deep ball, he can move the chains with a short throw. Worthy turned that exact bargain into 11 yards against the Jets. Denver gave up 15 to Johnson when the ball barely spent any time airborne at all.
Before Reid takes the shot, he should know what he’ll call if it misses. Near midfield, would he use fourth down if third-and-one went nowhere? At the goal line, could Kansas City get its fourth-down personnel set before the clock became another defender? Those answers tell me more about the wisdom of a second-down call than how far the ball travels. Besides, after years of asking this offense to pick up one lousy yard, it’s a little rude to complain when it brings back 15.
