Five linemen, two tight ends and a fullback dressed in red walked to the line of scrimmage and settled into their stances. For all of Andy Reid’s clever playcalling, this game – this moment – was going to come down to old-school football.
This was Thursday, late in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 21-13 win over Oakland, and the Chiefs – facing a first-and-10 at their own 19 – needed a first down to run out the clock and put the Raiders away.
To that point, they had rushed for a measly 55 yards on 24 attempts, an anemic 2.