The Chiefs’ FG block to beat the Broncos has a backstory — and an unsung hero

The unbeaten season was 97.2% gone, and that’s not some arbitrary number pulled from thin air, but rather a statistical probability. The Chiefs were done.

Almost.

Inside their home stadium, the loud majority of 75,000 voices were trying to preserve the almost. Trying to preserve perfection.

Through the noise, though, it was a quiet minority — the voices on the field — who would amplify the improbable. Amplify the 2.8%.

As the Broncos lined up a game-winning field goal try Sunday, their offensive linemen barked out some instructions.

“20’s right there!” some of them said, as Chiefs safety Justin Reid, No. 20, shifted to the right side of the Chiefs’ line. “20’s right there!”

It echoed across the line of scrimmage, and that’s about when Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal turned toward a couple of teammates, defensive lineman Mike Pennel among them.

“We’re going to get one,” he said.

We?

He.

Chenal blocked Will Lutz’s game-winning field goal attempt — just a 35-yarder — to lift the Chiefs to a 16-14 win at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Someway, somehow — a big toe, a kick, an overtime bulldoze into the end zone and, at last, a right hand — the Chiefs’ perfectly imperfect season endures.

These kinds of things just aren’t supposed to occur with such regularity, but the Chiefs have stacked them together like a morning routine. Heck, they have more what-just-happened victories than most teams have total wins.

It’s their thing. But here’s a secret about it: It’s not luck.

OK, it’s not all luck.

The Chiefs did not survive with some random shanked field goal. They plowed through the line and blocked it. They earned it.

And there’s a pretty good reason why.

Chenal, a 250-pound linebacker, bowled over Broncos offensive lineman Alex Forsyth, who, mind you, is listed at 312 pounds. That discrepancy surprised precisely none of his teammates — Patrick Mahomes quipped that some of them refer to Chenal as John Cena, the WWE wrestler who has a bit of a reputation for his size.

Still, even after he busted through the line, Chenal had to keep his balance and then use a full-extension dive to reach the ball — a remarkable individual effort.

Well, individual at first glance.

The blocked field Sunday has a year-old history, and that history actually begins with another individual. Remember that Broncos pre-snap message? They knew they couldn’t afford to lose track of No. 20.

Because they lost track of him once.

It was 12 months ago that the Broncos upset the Chiefs in Denver, but midway into that third quarter, safety Reid raced off the edge of the field-goal block unit and nearly took the ball off of Lutz’s foot.

The double-thump came quickly. The Broncos had left Reid unblocked on the play, which is not all that unusual for field goal protection — you don’t have the numbers to account for everyone, and if you’re going to give someone a free shot, let it be the guy with the most yardage to cover.

That wasn’t the key to the block that day, though. It was that Reid timed the snap perfectly because he’d picked up on a cue from the Broncos’ holder. He knew exactly when the snap was coming.

Denver scratched that cue this year. “They’re not dummies over there,” Reid said, after all.

In fact, the Broncos spent the entire game Sunday using at least a double snap — hut hut — to ensure Reid couldn’t jump on first sight or first sound.

They still, however, couldn’t take their attention off him. Rather than leaving Reid unblocked on the field goal try, Broncos lineman Matt Peart shuffled toward Reid and practically pulled him down by his neck. The mess on the end allowed the Chiefs a numbers advantage nearby.

Chenal wasn’t the only player to break through on the inside — Jack Cochrane and George Karlaftis busted into the backfield too.

Chenal was left with a one-on-one matchup because the Broncos knew they couldn’t give Reid zero-on-one.

Asked how he blocked the field goal, Chenal said, “It’s more of a feel thing. ... Are they giving help to our best get-off guy, J-Reid? A lot of times they’ll go out there and leaving openings down the middle.”

It’s not just the Broncos, by the way.

Reid’s quick release from the line of scrimmage is the stuff of lore inside the building. Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub freeze-frames his releases as they watch film in meetings. It gets noticed.

But that’s true outside the building, too. Karlaftis said he’s spotted that teams have deviated from their usual snap cadences when playing the Chiefs. Maybe that’s to prepare for Reid’s quick release. Or maybe that’s providing extra attention to detail when trying to knock off the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.

That’s the thing, though. With the Chiefs, it’s not some sort of extra attention to detail in one week that prompted a play to be made Sunday. It’s perfected details over the course of a year — or even multiple years.

This season, NFL field goal kickers had converted 206 of 213 attempts of 35 yards or shorter. (There’s the 97.2% number.) Lutz has only missed twice inside 40 since the start of the 2023 season.

The Chiefs have blocked them both.

At some point, the common denominator is the common denominator for a reason.

The Chiefs lost that game in Denver last season. We probably would’ve called it their worst outing of the year if Christmas Day hadn’t happened.

The field goal blocked that day became innocuous in a loss.

This one won them Sunday’s game.