Coach Andy Reid admits Chiefs ‘goofed’ on the coin toss before Sunday’s game
The Jacksonville Jaguars pulled off a surprise move at the start of Sunday’s game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, recovering an onside kick on the opening kickoff.
Thing is, the Jaguars shouldn’t have been kicking off in the first place.
The Chiefs won the coin toss, and they almost always defer to the second half in those situations. However, the Chiefs elected to receive the kickoff against Jacksonville.
Thing is, they shouldn’t have done that.
“That wasn’t a good choice,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters after the game. “We goofed that one. A little miscommunication.”
Obviously, that little mistake didn’t bite the Chiefs, who charged to a 20-0 lead and won 27-17, despite the Jaguars getting the ball to start the game and the second half.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said the decision to try an onside kick at the start was not a spur-of-the-moment choice.
“I was not telling you on Wednesday if I was going to do it,” Pederson told reporters after the game. “There are things that you look at and Heath (Farwell) and Luke (Thompson) do a great job of studying the opponents. Anytime you can take advantage of an opportunity, we are going to try to do that, especially against a really good football team. You hope that by stealing that possession right there, you go down and get three or seven and you take a little sting out of the game a little bit and out of the crowd.
“It is unfortunate we got stopped in that first possession. We had opportunities. They were there, we just didn’t capitalize on it. As the week went on, I just got more comfortable taking the onside if it was there.”
The Chiefs defensive picked up the special teams by stopping the Jaguars and forcing a short punt.
Jacksonville running back Travis Etienne Jr. said it was disappointing to come away without scoring.
“It really hurt, but I feel like that’s football,” Etienne told reporters. “We took a chance and made a great play. We have to come out with a way to score points and get three on the board or something. With an extra possession, we have to find a way to get anything right there, and we just didn’t and that’s what it is.
“It doesn’t do any good to sulk on it.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 8:52 AM.
