How a Chiefs player ‘screwed up’ one play — then used it to win KC the game in Atlanta

The Falcons hadn’t even fully set their formation before Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton’s left hand extended into the air, index finger pointing into the opposing backfield.

He knew.

He’d seen it before.

He’d screwed it up before.

“You show Nick Bolton something one time,” a teammate would say, “and you better not let him see it again.”

The first response was the literal point, the replication of a Leonardo DiCaprio meme that sealed the Chiefs’ 22-17 win in Atlanta late Sunday on a night in which, let’s be honest, they didn’t play all that well.

The second response was to alert his teammates by moving his index finger to the exact gap that would spring open. And inside a crowded stadium, that required inching closer to his defensive lineman and barking out some instructions.

“When you have a guy on the field knowing exactly what play is coming,” linebacker Drue Tranquill would say, “yeah, man, that helps.”

A man of his word.

And his point.

The Chiefs are 3-0 because Nick Bolton darted through the Falcons’ offensive line unblocked and tackled running back Bijan Robinson on a fourth-down stop in the open field. You saw the play, right?

This is how he made it.

This is why he made it.

It’s why, from their seats inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, his parents said to themselves, That’s Nick.

“Not surprised,” his mom, Jalunda, said.

“It’s always,” his father, Carlos said, “about his instincts.”

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The backstory begins in the second quarter Sunday night, when Robinson rushed for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Falcons a seven-point lead. Bolton greeted Robinson at the goal line, but it was too late. After starting the play from the left side of the defense, he couldn’t sprint to the right side to catch up with the jet sweep.

Just didn’t have leverage.

He did have memory.

“My linemen, I probably should’ve (had) them cheat over a little bit more and brought (linebacker) Leo Chenal with me,” Bolton said. “That probably would’ve had me and Leo hitting him on the goal line, and we would’ve pushed them back.”

The Falcons, kind as they are, would offer him a chance for correction. If you’re wondering how Bolton could call out a play before the Falcons’ offensive linemen had even squatted into their stances — how he “knew where I was going” before the snap — it’s memory.

It’s irritation over a play he didn’t make.

Bolton’s assignment on the fourth-down stop was simply to react to what he sees. He just did it before the snap. He’d already seen enough.

Chiefs assistant defensive line coach Terry Bradden runs regular meetings involving short yardage situations. And at some point, Bradden will usually settle back on a mantra.

Shoot your shot.

If you see something, trust it. Take the chance. And with the Chiefs leading by just five — needing to either get a stop or hurry up and get off the field and save some time for Patrick Mahomes — there couldn’t have been a better time for it.

Trusted his keys. Trusted his eyes. Trusted he knew where the ball was going. Oh, and then, “he shot his shot,” teammate Trent McDuffie said.

There are some unsung heroes on that game-clinching play. I haven’t even mentioned yet that Bolton left the game earlier in the half with a back injury, only to return just in time.

Mike Danna and Chenal blew up the left side of the Falcons’ offensive line. There’s a saying in the Chiefs locker room about Chenal’s ability to set the edge on a running play.

But that Bolton is Sunday night’s hero — the one who concluded the game standing for a national TV interview — well, that’s pretty compelling, too.

A different spotlight.

Truth? It’s been a tough go for Bolton in the opening couple of weeks. The Ravens and Bengals targeted and deployed their tight ends to take advantage of kinks in the Chiefs’ coverage.

That has placed Bolton front and center, and I’ll raise my hand among those who have mentioned it. The Chiefs allowed 276 yards to tight ends in two weeks, nearly 100 more than any other team.

“Some people might have started to doubt him or whatever,” Chenal said. “but we always know in this building what he’s capable of.”

A fourth-down stop doesn’t retroactively change the last two weeks. It instead reminds us of the other half of the conversation. And that fits neatly into the conversation about the Chiefs’ opening month.

The record is pretty.

The process has had some kinks.

The Chiefs have benched their opening day starting left tackle. Travis Kelce has 69 yards in three games. Patrick Mahomes says he hasn’t played well — and he’s right — and then he provides a list of six or seven reasons as supporting evidence, just in case you think he’s wrong.

And yet the Chiefs are 3-0.

A toe-length won one game.

A kicker’s toe won the next.

A fourth-down stop won a third.

I know the Chiefs have been defined by this kind of resiliency during the Mahomes Era, but the reality is they didn’t have much of it during an 11-6 regular season a year ago. That playoff run had a way of making us forget the Chiefs broke. A lot. From an offside call. From a helmet slam on the sideline. They didn’t respond.

We’ve seen them bend this season. A lot.

Heck, Bolton “screwed up” a play — his words — that he said cost the Chiefs a touchdown.

But he did not break. He hit back.