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One of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl heroes last season may be utilized similarly this time around.
Since his costly offside penalty against the Buffalo Bills earlier this season, Kadarius Toney has been in Andy Reid’s doghouse.
The 25-year-old receiver hasn’t featured in the playoffs and has not caught a pass since their 27-17 victory over the New England Patriots.
How the Chiefs utilize Kadarius Toney in Super Bowl LVII?
Kadarius Toney is currently practising with KC and wasn’t on their first injury report last week.
In Super Bowl LVII, Toney played a big part in their victory.
With the Chiefs trailing the Philadelphia Eagles 27-21, Toney finished his team’s impressive 75-yard drive with a five-yard TD catch to put KC in front for the first time.
After the defense held the Eagles to their first three-and-out of the second half, Toney made another huge play, this time on special teams.
He ran back a punt 65 yards, putting Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in business on the Eagles’ five-yard line.
That set a Super Bowl record for the longest punt return, with the Chiefs punching it in from there as Mahomes found Skyy Moore for a four-yard score.
Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub isn’t ruling out Toney returning kicks for Sunday’s Super Bowl versus the San Francisco 49ers.
“It’s a possibility,” Toub said. “We’ll see how the week goes and who’s going to be that sixth (wide receiver). He’s definitely in the mix.”
Throughout the postseason, Richie James and Leo Chenal have handled the returning duties.
James is averaging 8.1 yards per return on punts in the playoffs, with Chenal at 13.5 yards on two kickoff returns.
How could the Chiefs catch the Niners off guard?
It’s been a tough 2023 for Kadarius Toney, but the Super Bowl may be again his moment to shine.
The 49ers defense probably isn’t paying too close attention to him in preparation for this game though.
With weapons like Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice and Isiah Pacheco, it’s easy to see why San Fran would be putting their attention on that.
That might be the perfect opportunity for Matt Nagy to catch them off guard by giving Toney a significant role.
It’s a formula that’s been done in previous Super Bowls to great effect.
The Seattle Seahawks’ Chris Matthews a a go-to receiver in the Super Bowl versus the Patriots.
A former Foot Locker employee, who saw little offensive action throughout the 2014 campaign, Matthews caught four passes from Russell Wilson for 109 yards in a losing effort.
Baltimore’s Jacoby Jones had an outstanding 2012 season but rarely was a primary target.
In Super Bowl XLVII, he became the first NFL player to catch and run back a touchdown in the big game.
Ricky Watters had a career-high eight fumbles and his second-worst NFL rushing season in 1994.
He was a beast in the Super Bowl that season though, with the 49ers running back scoring three touchdowns, two through the air, helping San Fran annihilate the San Diego Chargers 49-26.
The Super Bowl is when magic happens and knowing the Chiefs’ history of trickery in these big spots, we should expect the unexpected on Sunday.