Andy Reid admitted after Sunday's loss that his timeout in an attempt to ice Tennessee Titans kicker Ryan Succop "backfired."
According to Succop the timeout made the difference. After coming up short on an attempt that didn't count, the ex-Chiefs kicker knew he needed more oomph on the 53-yard attempt.
"On the second one I just kind of had to throw technique out the window a little bit and really go after it and kick it as hard as I could,'' Succop said, via the team's official website. "I told some of the guys this afterward: You could give me 10 kicks from there and I don't know if I could make one, honestly, in the weather and the cold and just kicking a frozen football.
"There is one explanation for why that ball went in and it's because it was the Lord's will for it to go in. Glory to God. What a day."
You won't get a better quote for a campaign to abolish icing the kicker. The "icing" move from coaches has proven to backfire more often than help. If a coach is going to try this silly stunt at least do it before the kicker gets a free practice swing.
Sunday's mulligan made the difference on a freezing day. Succop's career long entering the game was a 54-yarder when he was K.C.'s kicker.
The 30-year-old kicker said he didn't even practice anything beyond 49 yards in pregame.
"I didn't even really go past that, to be honest with you, because I couldn't imagine going over 50 on a six-degree day,'' Succop said. "This is the coldest day I've ever played in."
Succop said he became emotional after the kick. His long-snapper blacked out.
"I kind of blacked out for a moment,'' Beau Brinkley said. "It's surreal. This team has been on the other side of that spectrum for a while, and it feels so good to be on the winning side.
"I was really excited. We were all really excited."
