Chiefs coach Andy Reid stole a play from a game in 1948 ... and used it in Super Bowl
The beg, borrow and steal nature of the NFL begins with diving into the film. It starts with the research early in the mornings and late into the nights. It’s a requirement of a coach’s job.
But most don’t look quite this deep into the vault.
In Sunday’s Super Bowl win in Miami, with the Chiefs facing their first key offensive decision of the game, coach Andy Reid turned to a play he’d seen on film.
From 1948.
On fourth and 1 from the 5-yard line, Chiefs quarterback Patrick lined up in shotgun, running back Damien Williams behind him and wide receivers Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson beside him. Before the snap, all four performed spin moves that concluded with each one stepping to the right. That allowed Williams, now directly behind center, to receive a direct snap, and he plunged forward for the first down and nearly scored a touchdown.
Everything but the spins — which Reid added — came from a play the Chiefs coach had seen on tape of the 1948 Rose Bowl between Michigan and USC.
“My brother’s high school coach was actually in that game for USC,” Reid said. “I had a little bit of that tape. We went back through and pulled that out. We actually have a whole package of it, so you’ll have to wait until next year to see the rest. There’s some good stuff.”
The Chiefs installed the play in April — nine months before they would use it on the sport’s biggest stage. They practiced it during organized team activities. Then again in training camp. And then every single week over the course of the regular season.
As the months passed without installation, players began to wonder if they’d ever actually use it.
“We’ve been working on that a very long time. I kinda thought Coach was joking. He’s like, ‘No, we’re gonna practice this; we’re gonna run it,’” right tackle Mitchell Schwartz said. “Literally we practiced it every week of the year.”
So when the call came — first to the headset of Mahomes and then relayed inside the huddle — it prompted a bit more excitement than perhaps a typical play-call in the first quarter.
“We had a whole package we were working on, and we kept working on it every single week and kept working on it and executing it and doing it the right way, waiting for the perfect time to call it,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “When we were there and Coach said it, I was like, ‘It’s time. Let’s do it.’”
Mahomes would run in a 1-yard touchdown to conclude the drive, turning a potential three-point possession into seven.
In pursuit of his first Super Bowl championship in 21 years, Reid made a statement in the first quarter.
We’re going to be aggressive on fourth downs.
The Chiefs had sent out their field-goal unit initially, but after a stoppage in play, they reversed course and Mahomes and the offense rushed onto the field. Later in the first half, they converted another fourth-down attempt.
And a day after the win, Reid said that if Williams had not barely crossed the goal line for the go-ahead fourth quarter touchdown, “we had a call” to go for the win, not the tie.
He declined to elaborate on the call. After all, it could be implemented next year. But only after more days, weeks and months of practice.
“It’s a play we’ve been working on, wondering where we can polish it off,” offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said. “It was fun to watch. Those guys did a great job of executing it. All that hard work of practicing that play for the entire season, it just worked, and it paid off.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Chiefs coach Andy Reid stole a play from a game in 1948 ... and used it in Super Bowl."