Somebody higher name Sherlock Holmes as a result of “The Case of the Lacking Dropped Passes” must be investigated earlier than Tremendous Bowl LVIII.
The Chiefs led the NFL with 44 dropped passes through the common season — a weak point so obtrusive that it appeared the extensive receiver corps would stop head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight finish Travis Kelce from making their annual deep playoff run.
After which the playoffs began and that very same solid of Rashee Rice, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson, Richie James and Mecole Hardman all of the sudden is enjoying like their gloves had been made on the Elmer’s glue manufacturing unit.
“Really, that’s one of many largest issues that was a priority for any Chiefs fan all yr,” NFL on CBS analyst Tony Romo instructed The Publish, “as a result of often what occurs within the common season does come again to hang-out you within the playoffs. Someway, this Chiefs staff has been capable of change the narrative and in addition be capable to produce on the sphere.”
The poster boy for the regular-season failures is now the face of a turnaround.
Valdes-Scantling dropped a would-be go-ahead 53-yard landing late in a loss to the Eagles, a third-down doable catch-and-run landing towards the Bengals and a catchable ball towards the Chargers.
Flash ahead to the playoffs, nevertheless, and there he’s making 30-plus-yard catches on each second-half landing drives towards the Payments and a backwards-falling 33-yard seize to transform third-and-9 and shut out the Ravens within the AFC Championship Sport.
“This yr, he had a pair drops in large conditions, didn’t grasp his head, didn’t lose confidence, stored battling, working with Pat,” Reid stated. “He stored going, figuring that it will flip round. Right here he comes up these final two video games [with] enormous catches. Similar to what he did final yr in a few video games. I’m joyful for him most of all that he was capable of get well, or no matter you need to say, from what was happening earlier.”
Reid is “proud” of Valdes-Scantling, who earned some fairness throughout final yr’s Tremendous Bowl run however had “individuals coming down on him in every single place” within the final couple of months.
“He understands which you could go right into a stoop,” Reid stated. “Generally that ball seems large, typically it seems small — and he labored by that.”
Because the fictional Holmes is unavailable, Romo suspects there may be extra to the reversal of fortune among the many receivers than simply exhausting work and luck night out. For instance, “championship DNA” and the form of good teaching that got here up throughout his dialog earlier this week with Broncos head coach Sean Payton.
“Once you take a look at it carefully, these guys know find out how to play in large video games, however I feel the most important motive once I research it’s that they’ve simplified the offense,” stated Romo, who described the Chiefs’ system as “next-level” with a number of choices for every receiver based mostly on quite a lot of elements.
“I stated [to Payton], ‘You understand what’s humorous? The higher [your team] will get on the quarterback place as a head coach, the extra you go to the following degree of attempting to get the play to be excellent.’ You don’t understand typically that these younger receivers are nonetheless in Algebra if you find yourself doing Calculus. I feel they simply went again to Algebra and made the sport easy for his or her receivers.”
The Chiefs’ receiving corps subsequent Sunday barely will resemble the group from Tremendous Bowl LVII. Fourth-quarter landing scorers Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney haven’t performed through the playoffs attributable to harm and the main receiver in that recreation with seven catches, JuJu Smith-Schuster, performed for the Patriots this season.
“If you happen to watch the receivers each single day, they’re catching on the facet when the protection is up, they’re catching after apply, they’re catching earlier than apply,” Mahomes stated. “I bear in mind I used to be strolling to lunch at some point and Skyy was on the market catching by himself. These guys have that mindset that they’re going to proceed to get higher.”
The most important gainer over the course of the season is the rookie Rice, who has 63 catches for 741 yards and 4 touchdowns over his final 9 video games, together with the eight straight with out a drop. He was Mahomes’ first look on the victory-clinching throw that finally went to Valdes-Scantling towards the Ravens.
What might be anticipated from Rice within the Tremendous Bowl?
“Explosive performs,” Rice stated. “Extra explosive performs.”
Sure, the Chiefs’ receivers have their confidence again.