After the Kansas City Chiefs edged out a 16-14 win over the Denver Broncos, quarterback Patrick Mahomes was quick to credit linebacker Leo Chenal for a game-changing play. In the final seconds, Chenal came off the edge and blocked Broncos kicker Wil Lutz’s field goal attempt, securing the Chiefs’ unbeaten record. Chenal’s standout moment didn’t end there-he also recorded four tackles throughout the game, showing his impact on both defense and special teams.
“He’s extremely strong,” Patrick Mahomes said.
“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.”
Reid hails Chenal
Head coach Andy Reid praised Chenal’s performance, emphasizing the effort he put in to make such a clutch play possible, which kept Kansas City’s 9-0 record intact. “[The Broncos] arguably take it down for the winning kick and then Leo steps up and does what Leo does every week,” Reid said. “Somewhere he makes a play-defensively, special teams-somewhere he steps up and makes a play.”
Mahomes had a steady performance, completing 28 of 42 passes for 266 yards and one touchdown, though he went without a score in the second half. “It’s week-to-week in this league,” Mahomes noted. “I just continue to work and get better throughout the entire season. We know it’s going to be a great challenge this next week – Buffalo’s playing great football. They’ve played great football for a while now and we understand what it takes to go into an environment like that and have to give it everything you have in order to get a win.”
