A stroke of magic… or wild disrespect? Chiefs split fans with ‘spinning huddle’ in Raiders win

Football fans were puzzled and impressed in equal measure by the Chiefs circling in a huddle before a play against the Raiders on Saturday night.

It happened late in the first half, with 1:02 left in the second quarter of the Chiefs vs. Raiders on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium, deep in Raiders territory.

After a Raiders timeout, the Chiefs came together and circled before finally splitting up and lining up in a new formation.

Jerick McKinnon, who got the first touchdown of the night, took the snap and threw it to Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs had a revolving meeting before a play in a 31-13 win over the Raiders on Saturday.

From there, quarterback Mahomes found Kadarius Toney for a touchdown, but painfully, the play didn’t count due to a penalty.

The Chiefs didn’t hold back for long, with Toney reaching the end zone on the next play after an 11-yard run and extending the team’s lead to 21-3.

‘Is the formation/rotating group supposed to prevent the defense from identifying where Mahomes is? So you’re surprised when McKinnon throws and the guy with the ball in his hands is a passer?’ suggested a viewer.

But many others thought it was disrespectful from the team.

“This is wild disrespect,” said one fan, while another wrote: “The Raiders are a joke.”

In another take, a fan wrote, “I can’t wait for this team to get humiliated in the playoffs.”

However, there was praise for Chiefs coach Andy Reid.

One fan simply said: ‘Andy Reid is a crazy genius’ and another amusingly posted: ‘I’m trying to imagine how this was discussed at Chiefs practice. Andy Reid: Have you ever played ring around the pink pocket full of posey? Offense: Say less.

Speaking after the game, Mahomes revealed that it had actually been drafted by the Chiefs players rather than Reid.

“So we called it a snow globe, we drew it right before Christmas and we practiced how to play it, but the coach said ‘I like that,'” Mahomes explained. ‘We put it in the game plan and it worked!’

We talked about that on the one hand: “Let’s see if we can get some confusion and return something.” It worked. We just had the withholding penalty. We have some good stuff going into the playoffs, and everything we do has to work.’

Added Reid: “You do (you want it to be fun), but you also want to score. It’s not fun when you’re not doing that.”

Mahomes later explained that the Chiefs players first came up with the plan, but Reid approved it.

Saturday’s 31-13 victory for the Chiefs was especially poignant for Reid, as it marked his 10th anniversary as the Chiefs’ coach.

It also saw quarterback Mahomes set a new all-time NFL record for most offensive yards, 5,570, eclipsing the record held by Drew Brees with the New Orleans Saints.

The Chiefs are 13-3 AFC West winners and the win over the Raiders means Reid’s team has won five straight heading into the postseason.

They have a playoff bye after clinching the AFC’s top seed with Saturday’s win.