Another week. Another one-score game. And another Chiefs victory. It’s become the story of the Kansas City franchise’s 2024 campaign. So, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when the Chargers took the lead with less than five minutes to play and, despite being on the back foot, the Chiefs won a record-extending 15th-straight one-score game. But let’s go back to the preseason, where Andy Reid’s men did, in fact, lose a one-score game.

They fell to the Lions in Arrowhead Stadium, losing 23-24. But it wasn’t without a couple of memorable moments, one of which came at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Facing a 3rd & 3 in Detroit territory, the Chiefs quarterback moved to the right before throwing a remarkable behind-the-back pass to Kelce, who made up 8 yards. Yes, Mahomes had rehearsed this move in practice, but he hadn’t expected to pull it off in an actual game. But he did. And what’s even more impressive?

“Travis was supposed to run an out route,” Mahomes said. “I pulled [the ball from the running back], but [Travis] wasn’t out there, so I was going to run for it, but then I just threw it to him. It wasn’t how it was drawn up.” As for the tight end? He was full of praise for Mahomes. “The cojones to throw something like that in traffic is insane.” But here’s the kicker: Travis admitted, “I screwed [the play] up. I didn’t even look at Coach Reid after the play.” Andy Reid, though? He was just happy it worked. After all, the Mahomes-Kelce duo improvising plays is nothing new. And interestingly, it happened against the Chargers this weekend, too!

After the two-minute warning, the Chiefs were at the Chargers’ 20-yard line on a crucial 3rd & 7. They were down 17-16. Mahomes scrambled, rolled to the right, avoided linebacker Daiyan Henley, and lobbed the pass to Travis Kelce for a first down. That set the Chiefs up for a game-winning field goal from Matthew Wright. But it turns out that Mahomes’ play wasn’t what Andy Reid had planned. In the post-game press conference, when asked about his improvised play, the signal-called admitted, “It was supposed to be a corner route [by Kelce],” and the room burst into laughter.

“I went through my reads, and as I made a run, I just saw 87 sitting right there in the middle of the field, open. So, I just fired it to him,” Mahomes added. Once that set up a first down, Matthew Wright (who stepped in for injured Harrison Butker’s replacement, Spencer Shrader) clinched the game and the AFC West title with a field goal. But it wasn’t a straightforward one. The kick was good, but the ball hit the inside of the left upright before hitting the net. The ‘doink’ made for yet another moment of bated breath for the entirety of the Chiefs Kingdom. But it was a ‘doink’ for the division at the end of the day.

Where was Andy Reid in all of this? Well, the head coach couldn’t really watch what was happening on the field. A video of the Chiefs winning the game showed him zoned out on the sidelines. He didn’t look at Matthew Wright make that 31-yard game-winning field goal. It took a second after that ‘doink’ for Andy Reid to celebrate the win. Unsurprisingly, he was asked about this in the post-game press conference.

“I trust in Matthew, so I was good with where we were. Percentages are pretty high. I know we’ve won a game in that situation on the opposite end, so I get it. But he’s a solid kicker, so I wasn’t too worried about it,” he said. But Reid couldn’t help but address Patrick Mahomes’ pass to Travis Kelce. “Once we got down in there – now to get down in there was a nice job by our guys. That play that Pat and Kelce made right there at the end was something. So, that’s not quite the way it was drawn up.”

In terms of putting up the numbers in the offense, Matthew Wright did most of the heavy lifting, putting up 13 points on his own. The team scored just one touchdown. But if Mahomes and Kelce hadn’t connected on that play, the Chiefs wouldn’t have been in the position to win that game. And in a season that hasn’t seen the tight end at his best, Kelce registered 5 receptions over 45 yards… and made history once more. With his last reception, the 35-year-old passed 1,200 yards, becoming the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach that mark. It took him 172 games, compared to Tony Gonzalez’s 210 games.

But the team is still struggling with red zone issues, and it doesn’t look like Mahomes is playing freely. The quarterback went 24 of 37 and scored a touchdown on a pass to DeAndre Hopkins. That said, Sunday’s fixture was the sixth time this season that a Chiefs game was decided on the final play. And more often than not, it’s been a play by Patrick Mahomes that’s helped them cross the line. This time, it was that improvised pass to Travis Kelce. What will it be next time? We’ll have to wait and see.

While Andy Reid may not have wanted to watch Matthew Wright take that game-winning field goal, that didn’t stop him from celebrating the win like he always does. Isiah Pacheco was standing right next to the head coach, and after that ‘doink’ went through the uprights, Reid hugged the running back. Pacheco spent most of the season o uninjured reserve, courtesy of a fractured fibula he sustained in Week 2. This was just his second game back, and he already started making a difference.

He has 55 rushing yards on 14 carries. Yes, none of them materialized into touchdowns. But his return did alleviate some of the pressure the Chiefs offense has been facing due to the long list of injuries. Addressing Pacheco’s return, Andy Reid said, “It’s great to get him back in there. He and Kareem [Hunt] are a nice tag-team to have.” As for his thoughts on the game-winning field goal?

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The head coach had just one bit of advice for Matthew Wright. “I told him, ‘Just keep it a little to the right [next time]. Just a little bit more.’” Wright, who rejoined the Chiefs after Spencer Shrader injured his hamstring against the Panthers, has had multiple previous stints with the defending Super Bowl champions. And as mentioned earlier, he did most of the heavy lifting in Week 14. “My hat goes off to him for the field goals that he made in tough situations, and that one at the end was great,” Reid added

Despite the offensive issues that need ironing out, Kansas City bettered their record to 12-1 in this bid for an unprecedented three-peat. But Andy Reid knows this is no way to carry his offense forward, especially when the Chiefs are gunning to make history. The fixtures coming up aren’t going to get any easier. The Chiefs will be up against the Bills, Steelers, Ravens, Eagles, or Lions, and this lackluster offense won’t do them any favors in the bid for another Super Bowl title.