Andy Reid has no regrets for calling quarterback sneak

[KC Wolf]

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Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had his kneecap dislocated on Thursday night while executing a quarterback sneak. After the game, coach Andy Reid was asked whether he regrets the decision to send the best quarterback in the NFL into the middle of the line.

“No,” Reid told reporters, after confirming that the sneak was called and not an audible. “Not too many people get hurt on sneaks. It was a freak thing, sometimes it happens. I was really proud of how our guys stepped up and didn’t let themselves down. You’ve seen that over the years where teams let themselves down when one of your best players get hurt, particularly the quarterback. But I was proud of how our guys stepped up and just kept battling. I thought they really upped their game.”

Indeed they did. The Chiefs led by four when Mahomes exited, and the Chiefs won by 24, thanks to a defense that played like is hasn’t all year long, constantly harassing Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco.

Denver’s only score came on the opening drive of the game, a methodical effort (fueled by a couple of timely penalties) that perhaps reflected the intended game plan before Mahomes was injured. The focus shifted to the passing game once Matt Moore entered. From the moment a Flacco fumble was returned for a touchdown on the first drive post-Mahomes, it looked like a failed approach.

But as the hole kept getting deeper, the Broncos kept digging, and it quickly became too late to do anything but pass.

Reid is right that injuries don’t happen often on quarterback sneaks, but quarterback sneaks also don’t happen with regularity — especially with true, short-list franchise quarterbacks not named Tom Brady. Anytime the human body ends up thrust into a cluster of oversized humanity, something bad can happen.

Last night it did, and now we wait to see just how bad it is.