Kansas City Chiefs are perfectly set up to steal iconic play used by the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Week 1 of college football
The Kansas City Chiefs have a problem to solve when it comes to short yardage. The Nebraska Cornhuskers provided the blueprint in Week 1 of the college football season.
The Kansas City Chiefs can take a page out of the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ playbook as soon as Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
Frankly, they need to.
During the 2025 NFL season, the Chiefs were automatic in short-yardage situations with the ground game, specifically running with former running back Kareem Hunt. Whether it was a fourth down, a third-and-short, or a goal-to-go scenario. Kansas City figured out how to be successful on short-yardage plays in 2025 despite the team’s 6-11 record. It was one of the most successful elements of their offense.
The Chiefs no longer have Hunt. With a fully revamped backfield, they have no clear short-yardage back. They might have players who can fill that role, like rookie RB Emmett Johnson or starting RB Kenneth Walker. However, Kansas City has a problem to solve heading into the season. How do you replace that short-yardage success within the scheme?
You might recall that the Chiefs no longer use the quarterback sneak, largely because Patrick Mahomes dislocated his kneecap on one in 2019. With him coming off a serious knee injury, there’s no question they won’t be using the quarterback sneak this season.
So how can they address their short-yardage woes?
Nebraska’s heavy alignment offers Kansas City a blueprint
They can steal a play that the Nebraska Cornhuskers used multiple times during their Week 1 2026 college football season opener against Ohio. The play features a heavy alignment with extra offensive linemen, but also two defensive tackles acting as fullbacks in the backfield. Jahsear Whittington (6-foot and 275 pounds) and Anthony Jones Jr. (6-foot-5 and 260 pounds) were the D-Linemen in question. Nebraska used the formation multiple times, both on short-yardage scenarios and at the goal line.
Kansas City is set up to utilize this system. Free agent defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga was used this way by the New England Patriots just last season. He played 18 snaps on offense in 2025. Rookie defensive tackle Peter Woods was used as a fullback in college at Clemson, recording eight career offensive rushes for 15 yards and two touchdowns. Both players’ success in offensive roles is well documented. They’ve each spoken about it during their time in Kansas City.
The Chiefs have the personnel and the play caller to make it work
What’s clear here is that the Chiefs have the personnel to pull this off. They have the type of play caller who’s bold enough to call a play like this regularly as a short-yardage solution. Borrowing plays from college football isn’t foreign for the Chiefs, and they’ve been best at it when Eric Bieniemy is the offensive coordinator.
This concept’s versatility is what makes it so appealing. Kansas City can hand it off to any running back and have those defensive tackles serve as lead blockers. They can hand it off directly to the larger player acting as a fullback, like Tonga and Woods. They can even set up play action and throw a pass out of the heavy look to a tight end or an extra O-Lineman that declares eligible.
The formation offers enough options to keep the defense guessing. For a team that lost its most reliable short-yardage weapon when Hunt departed, this play offers a creative blueprint to maintaining that same level of efficiency near the goal line and on critical downs.
