The 1972 Miami Dolphins were one 35-yard field goal away from their celebratory champagne toast on Sunday. That is until a little-known Chiefs linebacker reared his head on the final play of Kansas City's thrilling 16-14 win over the Broncos.
Leo Chenal broke through Denver's protection and blocked Wil Lutz's kick as time expired to maintain Kansas City's undefeated season in one of the more memorable ways possible.
"You live for these moments," Patrick Mahomes said of Chenal's game-winning block, via team transcript. "When you grow up playing football, you live for the walk-off whatever it is. It's special when you build (with) these guys for so long and you've built this chemistry with them and guys get to make that play. It's something that I'm sure Leo (Chenal) will have for the rest of his life. I'm just glad that we all get to experience it together."
Chenal's strength and athleticism on the play was eye-opening. The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder planted Broncos offensive lineman Alex Forsyth on his backside before leaping toward Lutz's kick, batting it down and sending Arrowhead into an absolute frenzy as the Chiefs improved to 9-0.
"He's extremely strong," Mahomes said of Chenal. "He's like the strength of a D-lineman but he plays the linebacker position. You don't want to be that guy on the end when he's working out. We call him John Cena. He's a guy who gets after it and we've used him on offense because of the way he's able to use his speed and athleticism with that power. He did it in the Super Bowl and he did it again today."
It helped that Chenal's teammates along the left side also dismantled the Broncos' field-goal unit. George Karlaftis and Jack Cochrane were those among them, and Chenal was sure to credit their effort on the play.
"It was right below my palm," Chenal said. "It was a good push by everybody, and I got through. We've been talking about it for a while -- winning one of those -- and we did it in a big moment."
As Mahomes had mentioned, this wasn't the first time Chenal has blocked a kick in a big moment. The 24-year-old's hand denied 49ers kicker Jake Moody point-after attempt in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVIII this past February, which kept the Niners' lead at three in what eventually became a back-to-back triumph in overtime.
Even when asked about that play following Sunday's block, Chenal still gave props to defensive lineman Michael Danna for the penetration which helped mold his own Super Bowl moment.
"I want to credit Mike Danna on (the one in the Super Bowl) -- I'll get the stat for it, it went through my hand, but he was the one who really stopped the ball," Chenal said on Sunday. "He's not going to get credit with the stat, but a big credit to him."
It's why Chenal's reluctance to take any credit for his effort on Sunday was no surprise to the Chiefs. Neither was it a shock to them that the third-year LB created another big play.
"He's a great athlete, big strong kid, plays a hundred miles an hour, he does it in practice, he does it during games, plays anywhere and everywhere and never says anything," head coach Andy Reid said after the win. "(He) comes from a family -- he's got like 40 brothers and sisters, so he's used to sharing so he doesn't really care about who gets the credit, and doesn't get the credit, he just goes."
Sunday's victory was the seventh one-possession win by the Chiefs in 2024. According to NFL Research, the most one-score wins by an eventual Super Bowl champion is nine by both the 2015 Broncos and 1986 Giants.
Chenal's game-winning block on Sunday is another memorable chapter in Kansas City's undefeated season, as the Chiefs' quest for the first-ever three-peat carries on. But perfection in 2024 figures to see its toughest test come next Sunday.
The Chiefs go on the road to face the AFC-rival Buffalo Bills (8-2) in Week 11, a familiar matchup which might compel to keep the '72 Dolphins to keep those champagne bottles on ice. That's unless the battle-tested Chiefs find another crazy way to keep the corks from flying.
