Football Spirits Drive Colts Comeback Over Chiefs
One of the football spirits showing how the game should be played.
The Indianapolis Colts overcame a 28 point deficit on Saturday night to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, an outcome driven by the Football Spirits’ determination that the Kansas City team was not worthy of the playoffs following their actions in their previous game.
The comeback orchestrated by Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck is now officially listed as the second largest in playoff history, behind only the 31 points overcome by the 1992 Buffalo Bills in their classic against the Houston Oilers.
The Chiefs drew the ire of the spirits of football by sitting 20 of their 22 starters in their previous game against the San Diego Chargers, leading to a Chiefs loss that earned the Chargers a playoff berth at the expense of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Chiefs decided not to play their stars because the outcome of the game would not affect their own playoff seeding. According to one of the spirits:
While sitting starters might be considered the ‘smart move’ by allowing key players to rest and potentially avoid injury, the practice harms team morale, endangers the integrity of the sport, and is just plain unprofessional.
Not all of the spirits agreed that the Chiefs deserved the extreme punishment of intervention for their actions. The anti-interventionists argued that the Chiefs back-up players acquitted themselves heroically, playing well, and losing in overtime only after their kicker, Ryan Succop missed a fairly simple 41 yard field goal. But, the majority believed that the sheer number of players that the Chiefs sat to prepare for the playoffs should seal their fate.
According to the Spirits, teams should learn from the 2007 New York Giants team, which defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. On the final game of that season, the Giants decided to play a competitive game with their best players against the undefeated Patriots squad, even though the outcome would not affect their playoff seeding. Although the Giants lost that contest 38-35, the momentum gained from the close loss is widely credited with propelling the New York team through the playoffs and to their stunning, ultimate victory over the seemingly unbeatable New England team in the Super Bowl.
Unfortunately for Kansas City fans, that advice can no longer help them this season, and in a sentiment familiar for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 1994, will have to wait till next year.
