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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs gamers Tyrann Mathieu and Chad Henne usually arrive early for work every day. Throughout a few of these mornings, the veteran defensive again obtained to know the backup quarterback nicely sufficient to return to the opinion that the Chiefs can be OK in the event that they ever wanted Henne’s assist to win a recreation.
“There’s nothing for us to do however sit round and type of shoot it,” Mathieu mentioned of his early mornings with Henne. “He is an awesome man. One of many issues I’ve actually observed about him is that he is a real skilled. He is a kind of guys that is a real veteran that is all the time prepared. For those who’re capable of watch this man each single day Monday by Saturday, he does the identical routine as if he’ll play that week.
“For those who have been capable of type of watch him within the final recreation of the common season towards the Chargers, you noticed a man that understood the offense. You noticed a man that knew the place the ball was purported to go, and he obtained it there.”
The sport towards the Chargers was meaningless, although, with the AFC’s No. 1 seed already locked up. Henne obtained an opportunity to show himself with the Chiefs’ season on the road throughout Sunday’s divisional-round playoff recreation towards the Cleveland Browns — and he delivered. With beginning quarterback Patrick Mahomes dominated out due to a concussion, Henne gave the Chiefs clutch performs on back-to-back snaps that allowed his staff to proceed the sport’s last drive and maintain off the Browns 22-17.
Henne first scrambled for 13 yards on a 3rd down, ending with a headfirst dive in an effort to select up a primary down. He landed a yard quick, however on fourth down he threw to Tyreek Hill for five yards to permit the Chiefs to transform and run out the clock.
After the sport, Mahomes fired off a tweet that included the hashtag #HenneThingIsPossible, and that hashtag started trending. One other hashtag, #HenneGivenSunday, was additionally making the rounds.
Henne’s social media accounts do not embody Twitter, so he may not have identified any of this if he hadn’t been advised.
“I do not assume #HenneGivenSunday or #HenneThingIsPossible goes to indicate up on LinkedIn,” Henne mentioned. “It is nice for [Mahomes] to have faith. …
“As soon as I obtained in that huddle, all people had confidence in me. They have been pushing for me, had my again, and this can be a nice staff. It is an awesome alternative to go on the market and play with this staff and are available out with the victory.”
The move to Hill wasn’t extraordinary. Henne took the shotgun snap, moved just a few fast steps to his proper and threw to an uncovered Hill within the flat. What was extraordinary is that coach Andy Reid had sufficient belief in a seldom-used backup quarterback to attempt to convert in such a state of affairs, with lower than two minutes left within the recreation.
“Once you’re round him you simply know,” Reid mentioned when requested why he had that type of belief in Henne. “Everyone has full confidence in him.
“I feel we’ll all keep in mind that, that run and the dive after which the throw.”
Henne hadn’t been requested by the Chiefs or any staff to be a hero in a very long time. Drafted within the second spherical in 2008 by the Miami Dolphins out of Michigan, his solely begin since 2014 — when he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars — had come within the meaningless Week 17 recreation this season. Sunday’s win was the primary playoff look for the 35-year-old Henne in his 13 NFL seasons.
“I am all the time a competitor, and all through the years, if it went my method or did not go my method, I simply felt like I cherished the sport nonetheless, cherished being across the locker room, and particularly coming right here simply enlightened me,” Henne mentioned when requested why in spite of everything these years he has nonetheless chased the quarterback dream.
“Coach Reid and his workers and the gamers right here simply introduced out lots of me and particularly Patrick. … He is helped me out greater than I felt like I helped him. It is only a pleasure to be right here, and that is why I play and I put together every week to be the very best me and simply have enjoyable with the blokes.”
Tight finish Travis Kelce mentioned that, like Mathieu, he noticed indicators that Henne would come by when the Chiefs wanted him.
“Initially, he is knowledgeable,” Kelce mentioned. “He involves work each single day understanding he is only a snap away from calling performs and being on the market main us to victory. Second, he is a competitor. That man it doesn’t matter what it’s, he is prepared, he is fired up and able to go, and we love him for it.
“Positive sufficient, when he got here within the recreation, nothing actually modified. We nonetheless had the fireplace in us. We knew we might rating factors with Chad and we might transfer the ball down the sphere with Chad. The third down was clearly a gutsy play by [Henne]. Everyone knew he had that in him, to have the ability to put his physique on the road for the staff.”
Henne can be again on the bench for subsequent Sunday’s AFC Championship Recreation towards the Buffalo Bills if Mahomes clears the concussion protocols. However he’ll begin the sport if Mahomes is not prepared.
Both method, he already has a spot in his staff’s success.
“To see Chad Henne scramble, attempt to get that first down, that is all coronary heart,” Mathieu mentioned. “These are the moments that raise groups. These are the moments that construct confidence.”
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