The Kansas City Chiefs needed a full-game effort to outlast the Las Vegas Raiders in the Week 4 bout that finished 30-27. The offense came alive in the fourth quarter with 20 points while the defense made enough stops to hold the Raiders down.
However, head coach Andy Reid called the third phase of the game “the best” in his opening statement after the game. At the podium, Reid detailed the impact of special teams coordinator Dave Toub’s unit.
“I think special teams was the best part of the three phases
today,” Reid said. “(Punter) [Matt] Araiza with the fake punt did a nice job there. We didn’t capitalize on it offensively, but what a job he did there, and then the punt down there at the end, I thought, was nice.“
Araiza was locked in from the jump, which included the fake, where he sprinted to the right with the ball and took a big hit after moving the chains. After that, he punted five times; the Raiders produced only four yards off those kicks, which averaged nearly 47 yards.
The last of his five punts seemingly iced the game, pinning the Raiders’ offense at their own one-yard line with only 1:16 of game time and no timeouts to move down the field for a game-tying field goal. Rookie running back Emmett Johnson made an athletic play to toss the ball back to rookie safety Xavier Nwankpa in order to finish off the on-target punt by Araiza.
Reid noted Johnson’s “great instincts” and pointed out that he is still learning and growing as a special-teams player, benefiting from Toub’s and assistant special teams coach Porter Ellett’s direction.
“Emmett is doing running back, and he’s working the special teams, which he hasn’t done a lot of in his career,” Reid said. “But Dave [Toub] has been teaching him and pushing him along there; he and Porter [Ellett].”
It wasn’t just punt coverage; the team also made plays on kickoffs. Reid pointed out the forced fumble by second-year linebacker Jeffrey Bassa in the fourth quarter as a pivotal play. Veteran linebacker Jack Cochrane secured the turnover.
“The play of the game was Bassa punching the kickoff out,” Reid noted. “Then Cochrane getting it back there. What a great job he did on that with the forced fumble, and like I said, probably the biggest play of the game.”
In a road divisional matchup, the little things matter in a game of inches. Kansas City’s young special teams unit has plenty to clean up with penalties, but the third phase of the game made a difference in the close win on Sunday.
