Patrick Mahomes didn’t even fret when the Kansas City Chiefs trailed the Buffalo Bills by three points with 13 seconds to play. Josh Allen made the throw of the year to Gabriel Davis to give Buffalo a 36-33 lead in the final seconds of regulation, putting the Bills in prime position to beat the Chiefs and advance to the AFC Championship game.
Thanks to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, Mahomes wasn’t going to let that happen. Getting the ball at his own 25 with 13 seconds left, Reid had some advice for his quarterback that will go down in NFL history.
“When it’s grim, be the grim reaper. Go get it,” Reid said to Mahomes prior to that final possession of regulation. “He made everybody around him better, which he’s great at. He just does it effortlessly. When it gets tough he’s going to be there battling. The players appreciate that.”
Mahomes went on to complete his next two passes, a 19-yard throw to Tyreek Hill and a 25-yard toss to Travis Kelce that set Harrison Butker up for the game-tying 49-yard field goal to send the game to overtime. The Bills never got the ball in the extra period, as Mahomes went 5-for-5 for 51 yards and a touchdown in overtime culminated with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce to give Kansas City the 42-36 victory.
Since the grim reaper quote, Mahomes went 7 of 7 for 95 yards with a touchdown as the Chiefs scored 10 points in the final 13 seconds of regulation and the lone overtime possession to pull off the improbable victory.
Mahomes and Reid both added to their postseason legend Sunday, as that quote from the head coach will be revered in NFL lore.
