For a second there Sunday night, it looked like the NFL could have its third tie of the season. Instead, the Kansas City Chiefs walked off the field in Denver as victors in one of the craziest game of the NFL season.
Kansas City kicker Cairo Santos knocked a 34-yard field goal off the upright and in to give the Chiefs a 30-27 win.
The Chiefs’ win was enabled by Broncos coach Gary Kubiak’s decision to attempt a 62-yard field goal in overtime instead of punting. If Denver had punted with just over a minute left, the timeout-free Chiefs would have been unlikely to score, and the game would have ended in a tie. Instead, Kubiak sent Matt Prater (who once hit a 64-yard field goal in Denver) out for a long field goal attempt. Once it missed, Kansas City got great field position, picked up a couple first downs and won the game on Santos’ dramatic kick.
Of course, just because Kubiak’s decision back-fired doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right call. It would have been hard for the Broncos to swallow punting away the ball and knowing they wouldn’t get it back. Despite the post-hoc chorus of criticism for Kubiak, you have to imagine most fans would support their team playing for the win and not the tie.
