‘Possessed man’ Eric Berry stokes Chiefs from failure to victory

With Alex Smith’s demoralizing overthrow of Chris Conley in the end zone and Ross Travis flubbing of Smith’s pass on the next play, the Chiefs had botched their best, and maybe last, chance to get back in range of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

It was 17-6 in the fourth quarter after Cairo Santos’ measly second field goal on a day the Chiefs offense showed no sign of being able to concoct a touchdown on offense and, in fact, never did.

Just as you were pondering the explanations and ramifications of this brewing Chiefs loss, though, safety Eric Berry still was vehemently suggesting otherwise on the sideline.

“He was a possessed man,” cornerback Marcus Peters marveled as he described Berry continuing to demand his teammates create a turnover when they went back on the field.

Call it coincidence, call it mojo, or just call it what Berry does.

But three plays later he tended to that himself after a blitzing Daniel Sorensen forced Carolina quarterback Cam Newton into a panicked heave.

“Sometimes,” Berry said, “you have to make things go your way.”

Now, there were plenty of reasons for the Chiefs’ crazy rally from 17 points down to beat the defending NFC champion Panthers 20-17 on Santos’ game-ending field goal following Peters’ improbable late forced fumble and recovery.

But it all was enabled by Berry’s interception and jaw-dropping, ferocious whirling 42-yard interception return.

Adding some spice and symmetry, the play was punctuated by Berry lunging into the end zone just ahead of Newton — with whom he has shared a rivalry and bond since they began competing against each other in middle school near Atlanta.

“I think it was more important that we got the win” than that he got past Newton, Berry said, though smiling and adding, “I think it’s pretty cool that people are back at home looking at this game and seeing ‘they came from right here.’ …

“We have a lot of history.”

Speaking of which, the first time he intercepted Newton, Berry said, was during seven-on-seven camps.

The last time was in high school in part of what became such an annual showdown that in their senior year the Atlanta Journal-Constitution headline on the story previewing the game was simply “Eric Berry vs. Cam Newton.”

In a way, it came down to that Sunday, too.

This time, it was a rousing play that both changed the game and spoke to the meaning of Berry to the Chiefs.

Even from the offensive side of the ball, Smith considers him a huge part of the very identity of this team — an identity that this season includes the greatest second-half rally in franchise history (over San Diego in the opener) and on Sunday tied the second-largest fourth quarter comeback in franchise lore.

And it’s about a little something more than just playing hard.

It’s about finding a way.

“I hate saying you expect that from him, but he just wills himself like no other,” coach Andy Reid said. “You saw that when he defeated cancer; you saw it here.

“That’s just his mentality. It’s unbelievable.”

For that matter, this play in itself was.

Awe-struck rookie Tyreek Hill, perhaps prone to hyperbole considering he has called Smith a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, called it “a GOAT moment” — Greatest Of All Time.

More certainly, it will be remembered as one of the great plays of this season as ably described by tight end Travis Kelce.

“It was kind of just a tossup,” he said. “EB was in the right place, just went up and snatched it out of the air. And from there, you thought he was down four or five times.

“He’s just hopping like a rabbit, in and out of everybody…. The whole momentum of the game changed there, even though we were down three (after a two-point conversion pass to Kelce). You felt we had the momentum and every chance to win that game.”

Attributing a certain fire to some halftime speechifying that apparently included forecasting the play, Berry had gone back on the field in the fourth quarter still figuring the opportunity remained inevitable.

“When it came,” he said, “I just wanted to make it count.”

By his reckoning, Berry said he knew he was going to score as soon as he hauled in the ball.

“‘Make ’em miss,’” he thought, “‘and make ’em pay.’ ”

Never mind that he had to audible from his initial notion of the route there — the right sideline near where he’d caught the ball.

“There were so many big linemen just coming my way, and I didn’t want to get hit by them,” said Berry, who also led the Chiefs with nine tackles. “So I just tried to use their momentum against them. …

“I felt … the flow of the play, and after that it was just instincts.”

Those instincts with the ball have served Berry well for a long time.

He was a human highlight reel in high school, both as a quarterback and defensive back.

And he went 96 yards with an interception in the third game of his collegiate career at Tennessee (a 59-20 loss to a Florida team for which Newton mopped up some before ultimately landing at Auburn).

“That (sort of play) is what made him,” said punter Dustin Colquitt, a fellow Tennessee alumnus who followed Berry’s collegiate career closely.

The pick-six on Sunday was the fourth of his NFL career, tying him with current teammate Derrick Johnson (among others) for fourth on the Chiefs’ list of career defensive touchdowns. (Bobby Bell scored eight: six by interception and two by fumble recovery.)

But knowing how to make magic with the ball is only part of the instinct that makes Berry exceptional.

This was a lost game until he revived it.

And now the Chiefs have won five in a row and appear to be legitimate contenders not just for the playoffs but to earn some home-field advantage.

If that and more comes to pass, remember that it hinged in great part on a player who just knew how to make things go the Chiefs’ way when everything else said it wasn’t meant to be.

This story was originally published November 13, 2016 at 7:29 PM with the headline "‘Possessed man’ Eric Berry stokes Chiefs from failure to victory."