The play concept is known as corn dog. It is a reverse motion action in which a wide receiver goes in one direction behind the offensive line before the snap of the football, then does a 180-degree pivot after several strides, running in the opposite direction and subsequently flaring out to the flat toward the end zone.
It is a signature play of the Kansas City Chiefs, and they employed it for two touchdowns in last year’s 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. Twelve months later, it has become etched in football lore. Trailing 22-19 to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, as the clock tensely ticked down to the final seconds of the first quarter of overtime play, the Chiefs’ peerless quarterback Patrick Mahomes stepped into his team’s huddle and barked this command: “Tiger 12, Tom & Jerry right, Gun trips, right bunch, F shuttle.”
Corn dog, or a variation of it, as the team’s head coach Andy Reid would clarify after the game, was once again activated.
On first down and goal from the 49ers’ 3-yard line, Mahomes lined up in a shotgun formation, sprinted to his right after receiving the snap from center Creed Humphrey, and tossed a perfect pass to receiver Mecole Hardman for a theatrical ending to Super Bowl LVIII (58). It capped a period of four Super Bowl appearances for the Chiefs and three victories over the past five seasons, a dynastic scope by any measure to define sports legacies. They are the first team to win two straight titles since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005.
“I can’t even explain what was going through my mind. It was just extreme joy,” said Mahomes of his emotions. “I didn’t even know where to go. Just so much excitement, man. I’m so proud of the team, and so proud of the guys to battle to the very end. That was the microcosm of our season. I said it, and then everybody came together, and we were able to get the win.”
Conversely, it was the second emotionally scarring loss for the 49ers in the Super Bowl during that time frame. They fell to the Mahomes, Reid, and the Chiefs 31-20 in February 2020 in Super Bowl LIV after holding a 20-10 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, to be shut out 21-0 in the final 15 minutes. Both defeats were under current head coach Kyle Shanahan, who has been heavily criticized by pundits for winning the coin toss to begin OT but defying conventional wisdom by deciding to send his offense out for the first possession instead of deferring.
In this year’s Super Bowl, the 49ers’ Jake Moody kicked a 27-yard field goal, his third of the game, to put San Francisco up 22-19 before Mahomes guided the Chiefs on their 7-minute, 19-second, 75-yard seminal touchdown drive.
His stat line illuminated the lofty historical status in which he is rightly placed: Mahomes was 34-46 for 333 yards, two TDs, and one interception. His wondrous arm is matched by a computer-like brain for real-time analysis of defensive schemes and situations, and adept mobility that makes the 28-year-old innovator a dual threat to swallow up chunks of yards with his legs, causing as much chaos for would-be tacklers as he does when throwing the ball.
Case in point: Mahomes was the Chiefs’ rushing leader on Sunday with 66 in nine attempts. Accordingly, he was named the Super Bowl MVP for the third time. No QB in NFL history has developed a résumé as extraordinary as Mahomes in his first six years as a starter. He played one game in his rookie year of 2017.
“I think Tom (Brady) said it best,” Mahomes reflected in pondering his young legacy. “Once you win that championship, you have those parades and you get those dreams, you’re not the champion anymore. You have to come back to that with the same mentality.”
It is an ominous warning for the rest of the league: There is a lot more winning by Mahomes in the years ahead.
