Everyone is overlooking the Chiefs' most impactful play from Super Bowl LVII
For years, everyone will remember a few key plays from the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVII win. Patrick Mahomes taking off for a 26-yard scramble. The controversial holding call against Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry. Nick Bolton's scoop-and-score early in the game. But one impactful sequence, in particular, is likely to fade away quickly. […]
For years, everyone will remember a few key plays from the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVII win.
Patrick Mahomes taking off for a 26-yard scramble. The controversial holding call against Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry. Nick Bolton's scoop-and-score early in the game.
But one impactful sequence, in particular, is likely to fade away quickly. To avoid it, Chiefs fans should make a special note of it and how impactful it was.
I'm talking about Kadarious Toney's 61-yard punt return to set up the Chiefs at the Eagles' 5-yard line. The play resulted in a touchdown three plays later to a wide-open Skyy Moore that pushed the score to 35-27.
In other words, an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter.
It was a crazy return, too. He fielded the football to his own left and was suddenly staring at SEVEN unblocked Eagles. I am aware that sounds like an exaggeration but it's the reality of things as you can see in the tweet below.
As a defender dove to bring him down, it was as if Toney was doing a backward impression of Michael Jackson's gravity-defying lean. It wasn't really that he broke the tackle, it was that Eagles WR Zach Pascal completely whiffed as Toney got out of the way while inexplicably maintaining balance.
As he broke to his right, Toney found what had to be the plan right from the start. A wall of Chiefs players with one and only one thing in mind: paving the way into the endzone.
"He's something with the ball in his hands," said Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub about Toney back in November. What better way to prove it than in the biggest of games?
While the Chiefs didn't score the desired touchdown, the play shifted the win probability entirely in Kansas City's direction.
According to RBSDM's probability model, the Eagles had a 41% probability of winning the ballgame before the punt. Toney's impressive return dropped that to a painful 22%.
By that criteria, that would be the biggest play of the game per the model. More impactful than Nick Bolton's touchdown, even.
In other words, it was the final dagger. To put it into perspective, the holding against James Bradberry dropped the Eagles' probability of winning from only 26% to 20%.
Toney's journey with the Chiefs has been filled with positives but not even his Super Bowl touchdown will be as emblematic as his wild, game-changing punt return.
When thinking about Super Bowl LVII, make sure to not forget his moment.
Featured image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
