Chiefs absolutely blow it, as Broncos steal a miracle win at Arrowhead

Andy Reid is often criticized for being too conservative. On Thursday night he took it to a level that will go down in NFL infamy.

The Kansas City Chiefs were backed up at their own 20 with 36 seconds left. There’s two reasonable options: Pass and try for the win in regulation or kneel on it. Reid chose a third, strange option, and it cost the Chiefs what would have been a momentum-turning AFC West win.

Reid decided to hand off. Running back Jamaal Charles got the ball, linebacker Brandon Marshall knocked it out, and cornerback Bradley Roby scooped it up and scored with 27 seconds left. The Broncos won 31-24. This wasn’t exactly the New York Giants blowing the “Miracle at the Meadowlands” game, but it’s darn close. It’ll be one of the most talked-about plays of this NFL season. Or of many NFL seasons.

“I’m not sure I’ve been in one quite like that,” quarterback Peyton Manning, who passed the 70,000-yard milestone on Thursday night, told CBS after the game. “That was a new one to me.”

What Reid was trying to accomplish by handing off to Charles, only he knows. Charles is a great back but the chances of him breaking off a long run against a really tough defense are slim. It would appear Reid wanted to go for the win in regulation but his nature wouldn’t let him turn it loose. So he kinda sorta went for it. That resulted in one of the most amazing finishes in the NFL in a long time.

The game that led up to Charles’ fumble was ugly at times but intense. The Chiefs have been looking to knock off the Broncos for years, and they had them.

The Chiefs took a 24-17 lead with just over two minutes left. Manning hadn’t looked great the entire game. The Chiefs’ pass rush made life miserable for him. But he came up huge at the end of regulation. He hit Demaryius Thomas three times, a couple times when he just threw it up and let Thomas make a play. On third down, with 36 seconds left, Emmanuel Sanders ran a great route to get open in the end zone and Manning hit him for a 19-yard score. Tie game.

Then came Roby’s miracle touchdown. The Chiefs got the ball back and needed a miracle themselves to win. Alex Smith never threw the ball downfield. He ran once and then he was sacked. It’s just in the Chiefs’ DNA to play it safe. It ruined them on Thursday night.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab