Chiefs' iconic Super Bowl-winning touchdown pass almost went to RB Jerick McKinnon
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman has been etched in history as the player who caught the walk-off touchdown pass to win Super Bowl 58. During a play dubbed "Tom & Jerry right" by Chiefs coach Andy Reid, Hardman caught the three-yard touchdown pass in overtime against the San Francisco 49ers by running a […]
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman has been etched in history as the player who caught the walk-off touchdown pass to win Super Bowl 58.
During a play dubbed "Tom & Jerry right" by Chiefs coach Andy Reid, Hardman caught the three-yard touchdown pass in overtime against the San Francisco 49ers by running a route similar to the "corndog" play that was used twice in the Chiefs' Super Bowl 57 win against the Philadelphia Eagles.
While Hardman ended up as the hero of Super Bowl LVIII, there's one player who was in line to catch the game-winning pass instead of Hardman if things went differently: Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon.
It turns out that quarterback Patrick Mahomes' other read on that play was a potential shovel pass to McKinnon, who ran a route up the middle and turned toward Mahomes, ready for the pass. However, 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa sold out on the play to cover McKinnon, leaving Mahomes to go after Hardman instead.
Watch Reid break the play down here:
It certainly would have been a storybook ending for McKinnon to get that game-winner. McKinnon, a soon-to-be 32-year-old RB whose future in Kansas City is up in the air, went "church mode" in Super Bowl 57 by sliding at the one-yard line instead of scoring a touchdown to guarantee a Chiefs win. Getting the walk-off TD in Super Bowl 58 would have made up for that lost glory that McKinnon could have earned in SB57.
However, the pass going to Hardman marked a great culmination of his career as well. Hardman left Kansas City last offseason and signed with the New York Jets, where he didn't get a chance to do much at all. The Chiefs ended up trading back for Hardman who eventually had a career showing during the biggest game of the season.
So, either way, the Chiefs couldn't have gone wrong.
