Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s best game of season was vital to Chiefs’ win at Buffalo
As he called signals for the first play from scrimmage of the second half on Sunday night, Patrick Mahomes wanted to audible out of the original call into what he reckoned was a fertile opportunity for Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
But that was easier considered than done. Or at least easier than done right.
For one thing, the Chiefs were hard of hearing enveloped in the raucous crowd at Highmark Stadium for the AFC Divisional Round game against the Bills — who led 17-13 at the time.
For another, much as Mahomes wanted to yell to MVS, he was acutely conscious of past Chiefs, such as former understudy Shane Buechele, on the Buffalo sideline.
“I’ve changed signals a lot, but I was a little worried that they would have an idea of what we were doing,” Mahomes said, smiling. “So I was kind of like mouthing it to (Valdes-Scantling).”
Trouble was, Valdes-Scantling couldn’t hear him any more than he could read his lips.
“But … I knew what he was trying to get to because I knew the (defensive) look that we were getting,” said MVS, noting that each understood the switch to make because of the simultaneous read of man-to-man defense. “So we kind of both were on the same page: I couldn’t hear him, but I knew what he wanted.”
If this wasn’t exactly the kind of cosmic telepathy Mahomes enjoys with tight end Travis Kelce, it nonetheless made for something critical in the moment.
And it reflected something more substantial than the oft-maligned receiver has demonstrated most of this season.
Despite producing essentially half as much as the season before and taking “a lot of heat,” as Chiefs coach Andy Reid put it … Despite some haunting drops, particularly a would-be late go-ahead touchdown against the Eagles … And despite some roundabout routes that suggested he simply wasn’t in sync with Mahomes …
It turns out there’s still some significant capacity for connectivity between the two, as MVS demonstrated on what became a 30-yard catch down the sideline. He was virtually velcroed and then jostled by Buffalo’s Taron Johnson but made the reception to pave the way to a key touchdown drive.
And MVS later reinforced that with an ad-libbed 32-yard reception to set up what proved the game-winning touchdown in the 27-24 victory that advanced the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game for an unfathomable sixth straight season.
You could say it was only two plays. But it also was two of his five longest receptions of the season and two plays the Chiefs likely couldn’t have done without — among plenty of others, yes.
But if his effort didn’t exactly atone for a regular season in which Valdes-Scantling had just 21 catches for 315 yards, it was a fresh reminder that he has the capability of being a postseason presence — and thus the sort of threat the Chiefs just may have to have to be able to compete against a daunting Ravens team.
“We’ve seen MVS in playoff games make a lot of big plays happen. And no matter what’s happened all year long he’s kept the mindset, the mentality, that he’s going to keep working and working for moments like this,” said Mahomes, later adding, “Even though he’s gotten some hate from outside the building, we trust him and love him here and know he’s going to make big plays whenever his number is called.”
At least that’s been the case a few times in the playoffs — albeit mixed in with a total of just two catches for 14 yards in his three of his Chiefs postseason appearances.
But MVS enjoyed his best game as a Chief in last season’s AFC Championship Game against the Bengals, reeling in six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown in a 23-20 win.
And even if he downplayed the difference between his regular-season performance and the postseason impacts he’s made — “I’m just playing ball, man; ain’t nothing different.” — he certainly earned more trust and need to be accounted for on Sunday than he had almost all season.
To reiterate, it obviously took a lot more than a boost from MVS for the Chiefs to win this game.
Mahomes was brilliant as he improved to 13-3 in the postseason. Travis Kelce had his first two-touchdown game of the season. The offensive line kept Mahomes from being sacked and enabled Isiah Pacheco to rush for 97 yards on 15 carries. The defense came through yet again. And, of course, there was Tyler Bass’ missed 44-yard field goal to tie the game late.
But if the Chiefs are going to become the first team to repeat as NFL champion in nearly two decades or even just get back to their fourth Super Bowl in five seasons, they’re going to need another dynamic dimension. Or at least the threat of it.
They’ve spoken a lot in recent weeks about playing complementary football, though the context largely has been in the sense of contouring their offensive approach to understanding the defense has been the most potent and reliable part of this team.
But to be their best, they have to be complementary in another way as well: with the sort of spacing and versatility that creates more problematic offensive options.
MVS can help furnish that, as he further flashed on the later 32-yard catch as Mahomes was being harried up into the pocket.
On the other end, the makeshift magic started with Valdes-Scantling being bumped off his path by a defender.
“And I didn’t want to get in the way of Travis, so I just took it across the field to let him kind of have that space,” he said. “And I saw Pat, Pat saw me, and it worked.”
In a way that helped make the Chiefs’ offense work about as well or better than it has all season.
Yes, it was a long time coming from MVS.
But it also was just in time on Sunday.
“We just had to wait for it to click,” he said, speaking more generally but aptly to his connection with Mahomes. “And once it clicks, we’re really dangerous.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2024 at 6:00 AM.