Five 2019 Chiefs plays that made you want to cry

Editor’s note: Last week’s SB Nation theme was Sports Moments That Made You Cry. Ron took a look at the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs season.

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We have experienced happy tears in moments like selecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the draft, winning a playoff game in Arrowhead Stadium for the first time in 25 years — and winning Super Bowl LIV. We had sad tears from countless postseason meltdowns, injuries to a star players — and sometimes tragedies like the drowning of Chiefs running back Joe Delaney in 1983.

This last season had plenty of moments that might have jerked a tear out of your eye. In chronological order, here are five 2019 moments that justified a good cry.

Week 7 — Patrick Mahomes’ knee injury

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This is the most obvious play on the list.

After two straight losses, the Chiefs were building a lead against the rival Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. They entered the red zone and needed a short-yardage conversion — so they called a quarterback sneak.

While Mahomes earned the first down, he wasn’t able to get back up. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one that had tears begin to well up when I heard Fox announcer Joe Buck say that Mahomes was still on the ground. After watching him battle through his ankle issues, this young superstar we called our own seemed invincible. At that moment, we couldn’t help but expect the worst.

Watching backup signal-caller Matt Moore finish the game was bittersweet — but our tears quickly turned to optimism in the following days when there was an update on Mahomes’ recovery timetable. A potentially season-ending injury turned into a few weeks off — and you know how that story ended.

Week 10 - Loss to Tennessee Titans

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While there wasn’t a specific play that brought on a mix of angry and sad tears from Chiefs fans, the way the Chiefs lost to the Titans in Nashville in Week 10 was frustrating — so irritating that Arrowhead Pride’s weekly FanPulse poll to gauge the confidence of the fanbase hit close to a season low.

Pick a play from the messy ending:

• The screen pass to backup tight end Blake Bell that head coach Andy Reid called on third-and-short with the game on the line
• The botched snap and hold on the following field goal attempt that gave the Titans possession with roughly 80 seconds left
• The 23-yard touchdown pass by Titans’ quarterback Ryan Tannehill with 30 seconds left
• The blocked Harrison Butker field goal with no time left.

All of those moments happened within the last 1:36 of game time. The loss was ultimately avenged in the AFC Championship — but at the time, Chiefs fans took this loss hard.

Divisional Round - Tyreek Hill’s muffed punt return

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Things couldn’t have started out any worse for the second-seeded Chiefs against the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round playoff game. A 14-0 deficit late in the first quarter was bad — especially when one of those scores came from a blocked punt. For longtime Chiefs fans, the eerie, familiar feeling was strong.

A big play was needed — and that’s what Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark delivered with a third-down sack to force a punt. With electric playmaker Tyreek Hill back to return, there was every reason to feel confident.

The punt fell and through Hill’s arms — and Houston recovered. A few plays later, the score was 21-0. Even the most optimistic Chiefs fan had to have started getting emotional; it really felt like the team was unraveling. Longtime fans were beginning to tell themselves, “It’s the same old Chiefs” as they fought back a tear or two.

The Chiefs would go on to outscore Houston 51-10 for the remainder of the game — and this play was seldom mentioned again.

Super Bowl - Mahomes’ second interception

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It’s hard to imagine anyone was still feeling great after this monumental play. With 12:05 left in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV — and down by 10 — Mahomes dropped back, needing to convert a third down deep in San Francisco 49ers’ territory. His throw to Hill was behind, leading to the 49ers’ second pick of the day. They reacted with a big celebration that was painful for Chiefs fans to watch.

As incredible as some of their comebacks had been, it didn’t seem imaginable after this play. Mahomes looked rattled, the Chiefs defense had given up scores on both second-half drives and it just didn’t seem like there was enough time left. At this point, crying was completely justified.

Then, the Super Bowl LIV MVP awoke and earned his honor. He led back-to-back touchdown drives to take the lead. After a great defensive stop, one more play brought out tears of a different kind...

Super Bowl - Damien Williams’ game-sealing touchdown run

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The water works were flowing after this one.

The Chiefs already had the lead and looked to be in good position to win it — but running back Damien Williams’ 38-yard touchdown run officially started the celebration. As Williams raised the ball to the sky, happy tears were shed all over Chiefs Kingdom.

There’s no better way to take in the magical moment than to pair it with the voice of the Chiefs: play-by-play announcer Mitch Holthus.

Personally, I cried at the end of the Super Bowl’s national anthem when I heard the loud “CHIIIEEEFFS” all the way from Miami, Florida. The familiar bellow on that big of a stage got me good.

What are some specific moments from 2019 that made you cry?