Chiefs’ win probability jumped a whopping 9% Sunday after this tackle by Nick Bolton
The Tennessee Titans will no doubt look back with regret at some moments in Sunday night’s game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Thanks to a fourth-quarter comeback, the Chiefs defeated the Titans 20-17 in overtime with quarterback Patrick Mahomes making a number of big plays.
The Titans led 17-9 and took control of the ball at midfield with 12 minutes, 55 seconds to play. Tennessee needed to advance the ball only a short distance and they’d be in field-goal range with a chance to take a two-score lead.
A first down moved the ball to the Chiefs’ 39-yard line, and the Titans picked up one yard in the next two plays. On third-and-9 from the Chiefs 39, Tennessee quarterback Malik Willis threw a screen pass to Dontrell Hilliard.
Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton sniffed out the play and made a bone-rattling tackle of Hillard for a 4-yard loss.
That pushed the Titans out of field-goal range and they were forced to punt. On the ensuing possession, the Chiefs scored after a long drive with Mahomes showing off his rushing ability.
The NFL’s Next Gen Stats showed the Chiefs’ win probability leaped by a whopping 9% on that one play alone.
After the game, Bolton was asked about the play.
“Yeah it was kind of a pivotal third down,” Bolton told reporters. “They were kind of on the fringe area of kicking a field goal and so it was kind of good to get another negative play (and) kind of talk them out of kicking a field goal right there, forcing a punt. Kind of give this offense a chance. So, the crowd was great. It was up and down all game (and) those guys stayed in (and) they stayed late, and they cheered us on, so I was proud of them (the crowd) for that.
“But again, it was just a play I saw on tap, kind of talked about throughout the week and coach did a great job of giving us keys and stuff throughout the week and I was able to make that play.”
At one point, the Titans’ win probability percentage was 84.3% in the fourth quarter, but the Chiefs rallied for the win.
This story was originally published November 7, 2022 at 9:06 AM.
