Welcome back everyone to Kolodkin’s Corner. The snow is thick and roads are slippery, so stay safe on your drive to work or school. A few talking points in today’s edition so let’s get into it.
Overtime, Part 2
One week after I argued profusely in favor of keeping the current NFL overtime rules, the Bengals and Chiefs played in the AFC Championship game and the game went to OT.
The winner would go to the Super Bowl. The loser would go home.
In eerily similar circumstances to its win over the Bills, Kansas City won the coin toss to start OT. And then the inexplicable happened. Patrick Mahomes threw an interception to give the Bengals the ball, in great field position, needing only a field goal to win the game.
Joe Burrow got the job done.
And I can’t deny feeling quite vindicated after taking online flak for supporting the current incarnation of the OT rules. Ones that could potentially prevent a team from touching the ball on offense. If the Chiefs had gone down the field and scored a touchdown, the noise would have grown louder, no doubt.
But Mahomes threw an INT, which meant both teams were guaranteed a chance at the ball.
That was the 18th overtime game of this NFL season, regular and postseason combined. Three out of 16 regular season games ended on the first possession of overtime. Of the two OT games in the playoffs, one ended on the first possession.
Once again, the teams decide the game, not the coin toss.
Andy Reid
Andy Reid is one of the greatest offensive minds of all time.
He’s a surefire Hall of Famer. His 14-year tenure with the Eagles is still the last time a team won the NFC East twice in a row, and he went to the Super Bowl.
He’s been with the Chiefs for nine years now and has won the AFC West for the last six seasons in a row. He finally won a Super Bowl in 2019 and has unleashed the spectacle that is Mahomes on the league.
And yet, for the second time in two years, the Chiefs have faltered in the playoffs.
Last year Kansas City had an extra week to rest and prepare and still almost lost to Cleveland. They handily beat the Bills the next week but then were blown out by the Bucs.
For his career, Reid was always known as a passing guru.
But also as a coach who struggled with game management. Jokes were often made at his expense when it came to wasting timeouts. Against the Bengals, there should certainly be questions as to the usage of KC’s timeouts towards the end of the game. More importantly, how he reverted back to one of the flaws that helped end his time in Philly.
An allergy towards running the ball.
Reid had prime LeSean McCoy at his disposal. Yet when games were close and Philadelphia had the chance to run the clock down, he too often elected to pass, leaving time on the clock and giving teams a chance at a comeback.
“Shady” McCoy was an All-Pro at running back and no one is claiming any rusher in the Chiefs stable is of that caliber.
But still, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Jerick McKinnon and Darrel Williams are all fine runners. Edwards-Helaire even looked like an early favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year for the first part of last season. Until Reid stopped running the ball.
In the AFC Championship game, the Bengals gave up 21 first-half points to the Chiefs.
It probably should have been worse, too. If KC had elected to go for a field goal or called a different play with five seconds remaining in the half. In the second half, Cincinnati routinely dropped eight men into coverage and put a spy in to prevent Mahomes from scrambling.
They dared KC to run the ball against an empty box.
The Chiefs ran the ball just 24 times, despite never trailing till the game ended. And yet they finished with 139 rushing yards — an average of 5.8 yards per carry.
McKinnon was the leading rusher and he carried the ball only 12 times but got 65 yards — an average of 5.4 yards per attempt. They ran the ball just nine times in the second half (Mahomes also had two scrambles) and totaled 50 yards.
Clearly the run game was working, Reid just didn’t use it.
Which begs the question, is there a problem in Kansas City? And how much is Andy Reid a part of it?
The late great John Madden once said that a head coach should never stay somewhere more than a decade, even if things were going well. Reid was in Philadelphia for 14 years and, despite winning consistently, the departure was mutually beneficial.
Make no mistake, I’m not suggesting Reid should retire or be forced out.
But the same issues that plagued him with the Eagles and his early career in KC have reared up again. And been a large part as to why two Chiefs teams with Super Bowl aspirations came up short.
The Chiefs will still be title contenders next season, but unless Reid can rebound, it will become less of a surprise should they fall in the playoffs.
The Commanders
The Washington Football Team is no more.
They officially announced their new name as the Washington Commanders. Pardon the incoming irreverence and ridicule, but what a distinctly unimaginative and lackluster choice.
The Hogs were right there for the taking.
A perfect ode to the most successful period in team history, but no, not good enough. Even though half their fan base and a large part of the general NFL fan base would have loved it. The Red Tails were another excellent option. Naming themselves after the Tuskegee Airmen who fought for this country in WWII.
Even the Armada or Brigade would have shown a little bit of style. Supporters could be ‘part of the fleet,’ for instance.
Alas, no, it took two years for the team to announce they were using the default name found on an old sports video game.
Perhaps not so surprising when you consider they have a record of 149-202-1 since Dan Snyder bought the franchise. Will they win on the field? Only time will tell. Although if recent history is any indicator, it doesn’t appear likely.
