On 3rd-and-1 on their opening drive of Sunday’s game against the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid turned to Justin Fields to run a quarterback sneak to try and gain a yard against his former team to reset the chains.
Fields fumbled on the play, and Jets linebacker Demario Davis recovered to set up a short field for New York’s offense at the Kansas City 34-yard line. The Jets would score a field goal four plays later.
The Chiefs survived a slow start against the Jets, scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half to earn a 35-12 win at Arrowhead Stadium.
During his postgame news conference, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid asked the media how they felt about the fumble, joking that he called the play because the media kept asking for it.
“Yeah, I mean, you guys asked for it, so we gave it to you, and (it) didn’t work,” Reid said, via Charles Goldman. “How’d you feel? So listen, we’ve got to make sure those are hard to practice live… Quarterbacks, I think, it’s hard to practice unless you do it in a game.
“And so we just got to get those two on the same page on it, and make sure we get the ball up first and in the quarterback’s hands, and we can roll from there.”
The Chiefs traded with the Jets for Fields in March to become their backup quarterback while Patrick Mahomes was rehabbing from his ACL injury. Fields is known for his mobility, and some in the media suggested Reid could use Fields as a runner or for sneaks, which would protect Mahomes in those situations.
Fields finished the day with two carries for -1 yards. The former first-round pick by the Bears has yet to attempt a pass this season.
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