Id also bet it comes when you ask special teams players to do things they're not used to. Like when Dustin Colquitt threw an Ill advised moonball instead of just taking a sack on a bad snap. Or like Darwin Thompson being so confused by having the ball fall into his lap that he was trying to toss it away to his teammate. That's part of the risk when you run a play like that. Within a split second he'd have to see Sorenson was there and be so confident about it that he'd be willing to check out of a play his coach specifically drew up.
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The play was arguably there for Justin Reid. It was a combo of him having no running experience to know how to shake off Sorenson and Sorenson making an outstanding play.
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Yep. Sorenson anticipated the fake and was drifting that way even before the snap. W/o that little extra momentum, or an extra 1/10th second of hesitation by Sorenson - Reid makes it to the marker. He didn't expect Sorenson to shoot out of a cannon like that.
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It was just where they were on the field that gives me issue with it. If he gets it, even if it's a big gain, he's not going for a TD. At best what, they have first and 10 from their own, 45-50? You still aren't really gaining points whereas if it goes down the way it does, the Chiefs are already in FG range.
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Ass whoopin was imminent. That's why they did it. So we drive 65 yards instead of 35. NEXT. Again, the ass whoopin was imminent. We had already shifted momentum. We scored and forced a 3 and out. O'Brien knew what was coming.....
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And there is NOTHING wrong with going up 24-0 on the road. Media needs to stop acting like any one of those things COMPLETELY changed the game. WE SCORED 7 STRAIGHT TOUCHDOWNS!!!! It didn't matter. They need to talk about what WE did, fuck O'Brien. There was nothing he could have done to stop that ass whoopin..
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The clock is their friend at that point, though.

Let's say they just run another 2 minutes off the clock and then pin the Chiefs inside the 20 - whole half is different and they've taken back a fair amount of momentum.

I think it was a good call. It just didn't work.
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I don't think time is really anything to worry about at that point in the 2nd quarter though. I mean sure, say you do that. The Chiefs go down and score and it's 24-14, Chiefs at that point may be at the half and get it after halftime. Do you have any illusions that the Texans d was gonna stop the Chiefs then? I mean best case scenario here is you get to the 3rd quarter with the ball and a lead. But again, that's just a lot to ask.

I'd just punt and play defense and pray.
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If you're going to go for it in that situation, I think you've got to go for it on 4th and 1 instead of taking the field goal. Otherwise it's difficult to justify.
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Skip Bayless kept posting on Twitter that Mahomes is just as reliant on Kelce as Wentz is reliant on his TE. Then Mahomes marched down the field for a TD without Kelce on the field to start the 3rd quarter. :-)
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I think the FG was fine. But if you're gonna be conservative there, do it again and punt. Don't do half and half.
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Yea the thing that makes BOb look dumb is there was no consistency in his strategy so it looks like there was no actual strategy. Hell he almost punted down 20 in the 4th quarter.
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I agree, but don't compound a bad decision with another.

The 4th and 1 FG was a sunk cost at that point. It happened already. Then the Chiefs drove down like it was nothing and scored.

Circumstances had changed a bit from the 4th and 1 call to the fake punt call. And now O'Brien see Arrowhead getting revved back up and sees that the Chiefs haven't quit.

He can't sit there and say "well shit - this one might get pretty hairy on us in a hurry but since I already kicked a FG, I guess I need to punt..."

You cannot let a previous bad decision govern your next one. Yes, he should've gone for the 1st on that 4th and 1. But that ship has sailed. Now you have to view the next decision he makes independently of that one, IMO.

He made a good call there. Yes, it was a risky spot on the field but that's when you HAVE to try stuff like that or they always get snuffed out. Let's not forget that the Chiefs had Hardman up on the gunner when the Texans punted at the 50ish in that game; they had a punt-safe call on. The only way you're gonna get a fake to work is if there's total surprise and you won't get that if it's not a disfavorable spot on the field.

It's actually pretty easy to justify even after kicking the FG. "Well ultimately I !@#$ed up that 4th down call and life goes on..."

Don't be a prisoner of a bad decision by allowing it to influence your next one.
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Ok. That's true, I get it. But that ultimately means the calculus you use to make decisions changes on a whim. If you're that quick and easy to change the approach, well, I think that leads to bigger problems.
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I just don't see how this is that complicated.

Things. Change.

The FG was with the Chiefs stepping on their dicks and Arrowhead getting real, real quiet. It put them up 3 scores and 3 2 pts (and effectively a 4th because nobody is going to be chasing points and going for 2 that early in the game).

I would have gone for it, but there's a reason why you don't.

Meanwhile, Arrowhead got all the spark they needed and the Chiefs sideline was roaring once they got that first TD immediately following the FG. The situation at 11:00 in the 2nd was far different than the situation at 8:00 in the second. BoB knew damn good and well that party time was over and now momentum was building. The Chiefs appeared to still be on their feet after a couple of hay-makers. He also knew that his secondary was garbage and he had no pass rush to speak of. At that point the possibility of holding back the tidal wave was looking pretty remote unless he could rip momentum back.

The fake punt would've provided an outstanding opportunity to do it.
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