Inside Chiefs' 'Heisman' Play Call for Mahomes, McKinnon's Go-Ahead TD vs. Patriots

The Kansas City Chiefs went to an unusual play call in the first quarter of Sunday's matchup against the New England Patriots, but the play worked and gave the Chiefs an early lead.

The trick play is called "Heisman," per NBC Sports' Peter King, and the origin of the play dates back approximately 80 years. According to King, the play was first used in the forties when Penn ran it against Columbia. Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy presented the play to Andy Reid, and the head coach liked it.

In the "Heisman" play, Jerick McKinnon lined up behind the center with Patrick Mahomes to his left. Tight end Blake Bell lined up behind the left tackle with wide receiver Rashee Rice flanked left. The snap went to McKinnon, and he fake pitched to Mahomes before throwing a shovel-pass to Rice. Rice then ran through the hole in the line of scrimmage to score.

The play is one Reid has had in his back pocket, but he was saving it for the right moment. It worked to a tee and helped the Chiefs get an early edge over the Patriots.

"It's tough to stop," Reid said. "When we thought about it, I'm going, 'That one we can do.' Those guys worked hours on the ball-handling and stuff. McKinnon, he was a quarterback, an option quarterback at Georgia Southern. He had the option to hand off, but he wanted to pass. So he does, and it works. He's crazy. Comes up to me after the play, all excited. Does a chest-bump! He's nuts."

The Chiefs snapped a two-game losing skid with the win over the Patriots and helped them keep their hopes of reaching the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC alive. Kansas City will take on the Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers to close out the season.