'I messed that one up' - Chiefs' Reid owns costly 4th-down miss - ESPN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the fourth quarter of a must-win game Sunday night against the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid made a decision he had never made over a 27-year career — one that proved to be the turning point in an eventual 20-10 loss.

With 10 minutes remaining and the score tied at 10, Reid decided to keep the Chiefs offense on the field facing fourth-and-1 from their own 31-yard line.

Instead of calling for a handoff to Kareem Hunt — who has been one of the NFL's most reliable running backs in short-yardage situations — Reid had quarterback Patrick Mahomes operate from the shotgun with receiver Hollywood Brown in the backfield. The play backfired, as Mahomes' pass in the middle of the field for receiver Rashee Rice fell incomplete.

It marked the first time in Reid's career that he went for it on fourth down with the score tied in the fourth quarter or overtime and with his offense inside its own 40-yard line.

A few minutes later, the Texans scored to go ahead 17-10.

«I put the guys, offensively, in a tough position with the fourth downs [calls],» Reid said. «I was trying to stay aggressive with it. I take full responsibility for that. I thought we could get it. It's important that you take advantage of opportunities. In hindsight, it was wrong. I messed that one up.»

Entering Sunday, the Chiefs led the league in fourth-down success rate, converting 80.8% of their 26 attempts.

Next Gen Stats and ESPN Analytics' model agreed with Reid's decision to go for it with 10 minutes left, as the Chiefs' win probability was at 51.7%. But Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. pressured Mahomes into throwing the ball sooner than he wanted against Houston's zone coverage.

«They did a good job of passing off