The team committed to its ground attack, which was made possible by a strong performance by the offensive line. Position coach Andy Heck had his group prepared to carry the load.
“I thought the line was controlling things there pretty good,” Reid pointed out, “which was important. We were getting positive yards on first down, which was good. We ran a little bit on second down, likewise. Coach Heck puts all of that together — I mean, that’s his deal. He did a great job schematically with it. They were dialed up and the guys executed them.”
As the slugfest wore on, this reliance on the running game helped open up the passing game.
“Whenever you’re able to run the football like that,” Mahomes explained to reporters, “it makes defenses come up — and then you can hit some of these deeper throws down the field like we did at the end there.”
Eventually, this helped wide receiver Rashee Rice find space downfield. He registered a career-high 141 receiving yards — with 132 of them spread over five receptions late in the game.