Written by: Chris Rubio
Somehow this became a phrase a bit ago, running it back. It’s a do-over. Sometimes, we all need a do-over.
We’ve all had a bad day at the office. You may be working on a project and tanked the big presentation. Imagine all of the hard work that went into your production, and then at the moment of truth, pow, you tanked it. It happens, right? Sometimes, these things happen at absolutely the worst time. You never saw it coming, then it hits you like a freight train, and there’s nothing you can do but take it. You know that you can do better, but you need your shot. What about a poor showing at a job interview? Sometimes, S##t happens, and you never get that shot. Thankfully for us Chiefs fans, we are in the season of running it back. We want to run back the title. So, we all had to cringe and watch our talented young wide receiver Kadarius Toney essentially hand last week’s game to the Lions. He dropped three critical passes in the game, each of which could have turned the game in the Chiefs favor. It’s hard to imagine how badly he felt about his performance. It’s hard to imagine a worse outcome.
The good news is that we have an amazingly educated fan base in Chiefs Kingdom. There was overwhelming empathy and support for this young guy, how we need to give him a second chance and do it fast.
In following the Chiefs on many social media accounts, you could see how many of our fans understood that we need this young guy to succeed. Kadarius Toney’s success is critical to the 2023 KC Chiefs and our prospects to mount a deep playoff run and defense of our title. He is not the first player to have such an off night.
According to the stats online, reception drops were not a statistic that was well-documented before 1991. Would it surprise you that the great Jerry Rice dropped ten passes in his first 11 games? Rice is only the greatest Wide Receiver to ever walk the planet. I saw in a documentary that Rice cried during that rookie season over these failures.
Did you know Terrell Owens, another Hall of Famer, dropped 17 passes in 2006? This is long after he had been a seasoned pro.
Let’s return to Super Bowl LVII this past February and not with a short memory. The play was called Corn Dog watch it here. The Chiefs are behind 27-21. The call is for Kadarius Toney to fake a jet sweep and then reverse course and go back to his starting point. Patrick Mahomes finds Toney wide open. You could have driven two 18-wheelers between Toney and the nearest defender at that moment. He was that wide open. We may never see a more wide-open receiver in such a big game.
Toney caught the sure Touchdown, the Chiefs took the lead, and the Championship was returning to Arrowhead Stadium.
A few plays later on a fourth down punt in the fourth quarter, here is Kadarius Toney making the longest punt return in Super Bowl History, traveling 65 yards and putting the Chiefs in a spot to go up by 8 points in the fourth quarter. Chiefs fans, this kid is important; we need him and root for him because he is a difference-maker. If we are to have a chance at a deep run to the post-season, we will need this young man to produce.
The scene was set in the 2023 AFC title game last January, with the game tied 20-20 between the Chiefs and the Bengals. There are 41 seconds on the clock, and of all of the people, who does Andy Reid send out to receive the most important punt return of the season? None other than Skyy Moore. Surely, we remember Skyy Moore. Moore fumbled three critical punt returns in 2022 in separate games, yet with the game on the line, and heck the season on the line who does Andy Reid send out to do the job? Our fumble-prone rookie Skyy More. Sitting in Arrowhead stadium in the title game, we all wondered what Reid was thinking in sending Moore to do the job. We know what happened next. Moore rewarded Andy’s confidence with a huge punt return, which set up MVPat’s legendary scramble that brought the Lamar Hunt trophy back to KC. He ran it back – Skyy Moore literally ran that punt back!
When we think of running it back, there’s something we all celebrate about recovering from the initial failure. If you were the presenter and you tanked the presentation, what would you do with that second chance? What would you do with that failed job interview if you could run it back? What if you had a do-over at that one relationship? What if it was a second chance at an out-of-character mistake? What if you are the Boss that can give a second chance? Sometimes, it takes timing and opportunity, but when you get that chance, you must be ready to take your shot and run it back. If you are in a position to take your shot at a second chance, or give a second chance, embrace it; do it, something magical might happen. You might change the course of life or history!
What if Bill Walsh had given up on the great Jerry Rice? What if Apple had never given Steve Jobs his second chance?
Let’s give the kid a shot and hope that Andy Reid returns to him on Sunday on the first play. It wouldn’t surprise me at all. Toney will be ready, Reid will be ready, and the Chiefs will get their shot at the do-over from our season-opener, run it back and get this 2023 season started.
