The most memorable moment of Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s 2023 regular season was not a positive one.
Valdes-Scantling dropped a deep ball that could have been a touchdown late in a Week 14 loss to the Bills and the play became an illustration of the season-long issues the Chiefs had to deal with in their receiving corps. Valdes-Scantling rebounded with a pair of big catches against the Bills in the playoffs, however, and he made one of the biggest plays in the AFC Championship Game.
With the Chiefs facing a third-and-9 just ahead of the two-minute warning, Patrick Mahomes uncorked a deep shot to Valdes-Scantling and the receiver reeled it in for a win-sealing 32-yard gain.
“I looked at Rashee [Rice] first, and the safety cut him and it gave MVS the free lane,” Mahomes said, via KSHB. “I put it up and let him make a play. In those situations, you put it up. You don’t want to overthrow it, so you just put it up there, one-on-one and try to make a play. That’s what he did.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid called Valdes-Scantling “the picture” of the resilience that the Chiefs showed to make it back to the Super Bowl this season and the shot of him laying out to corral the fourth quarter catch is one they’ll be celebrating in Kansas City for years to come.
