Why Wasp isn’t just a Super Bowl memory for Chiefs: ‘It’s still a hard thing to stop’
Without “Jet Chip Wasp,” the Kansas City Chiefs probably don’t win Super Bowl 54.
That 44-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill on third-and-15 — Mahomes requested the play during a previous stoppage on the Chiefs’ sideline — is now the stuff of legends, as it kick-started KC’s 10-point comeback in the fourth quarter of a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Now, some 2 1/2 years later, it’s worth asking Reid about it again before the first Chiefs-49ers regular-season game since that Super Bowl. Does he have a deeper appreciation for Wasp today, considering how it changed the franchise’s trajectory?
“That play got a lot of publicity, I know,” Reid said. “So I’m sure they (the 49ers) have worked on it.
“But we don’t run it anymore, so it’s alright.”
As Reid completes the sentence, a grin crosses his face. He smiles and looks back and forth, hoping you caught the joke.
Because here’s the reality: There is lots of tape on Wasp. And opponents are perhaps more prepared for it than they were in the past.
But that doesn’t mean the Chiefs have stopped running it. Not by a long shot.
“It’s a fun play — fun play-concept to do,” receiver Mecole Hardman said. “And once it’s called, it’s like your antennas just pop up, like, ‘Oh (shoot). Yeah, let’s go.’”
‘It’s still a hard thing to stop, man’
The proof that Wasp still exists — and can be successful — shows up from tape of last season’s road game at Cincinnati.
Hardman, standing in front of his locker this week, remembers it immediately while watching it back on an iPhone.
“We knew we got man (coverage),” Hardman said, watching wide-angle video footage of the replay. “So we knew they run this coverage on certain down and distances.”
It only makes sense that if anyone carried on the Wasp tradition — with or without Tyreek Hill on the team — it would be Hardman.
Because the route associated with Wasp (where a receiver must sprint forward, then in like a post route, then back out again to the corner) requires one skillset above all else:
Speed.
“It’s real fun. You’ve gotta be fast for sure,” Hardman said. “I enjoy it actually.”
Knowing the Bengals’ defensive tendencies on this snap helped Hardman complete his assignment. He managed to get outside the cornerback in front of him, and once he pushed past that man, “I knew it kind of was over.”
That’s because Hardman was reading Cincinnati’s positioning from there. In a two-safety look, his mission on Wasp is to crisply cut to the sideline, giving Mahomes a potential throw away from the half-field safety.
With the Bengals playing only one safety in the middle of the field, however, Hardman could take more of an angle upfield, letting Mahomes lead him away from the defender.
“It’s still a hard thing to stop, man,” Hardman said. “But you’ve just gotta be ready for it if you’re a defense. As an offensive player, you’ve just got to be ready to execute it.”
The play takes time, and just like the Super Bowl, Mahomes retreated seven expected steps out of a shotgun setup before heaving it down the sideline to Hardman, who ran under it for a 51-yard gain on third-and-10.
The Chiefs also attempt to scheme it open with disguises. Hardman said KC could run it with players at different positions. One counter off it also could be for Hardman just to continue running across the field on his post route; if opponents are expecting Wasp, Hardman can outrun safeties to a different spot.
It also allows for other variations even if it’s not the specific Wasp concept used in the Super Bowl (which is the outside receiver running a deep in and the second receiver performing the in-and-out Wasp route). Against Buffalo last week, for example, Hardman was in that second receiver spot when he ran a post, then out, then back inside again — a variation that could be looking to take advantage of the Bills’ safeties if they sold out on the Chiefs going back to Wasp in a crucial moment.
Mahomes says cat-and-mouse alterations off Wasp’s success are part of the team’s natural progression with the playbook.
“You see that defenses have accounted for that for some of the stuff that we’ve done. So how are we going to combat that? How are we going to go out there and make plays that go off of it to get other guys open?” Mahomes said. “And that’s a challenge every day, and we try to continue to do every week. And we know that we’re going to have to continue to evolve if we want to be a top offense in this league.”
When Chiefs’ Wasp might reappear
Now that we know Wasp is still floating out there for the Chiefs ... is there a game situation when it’s best to be ready for it?
KC often runs it in third-and-long situations, but Hardman said it doesn’t have to be run then; the players are prepared for it whenever Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy give the call.
“It’s one of those plays you just keep in the holster,” Hardman said, “and whenever you’re ready to pull it out and shoot it, let’s go for it.”
Hill is no longer on the Chiefs roster. In fact, only two KC offensive starters from that game — Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce — continue as mainstays with this year’s offense.
Reid was still onto something with his comments earlier this week.
The 49ers know all about Wasp. They were stung by it once before.
So does Hardman think the 49ers will be ready for the play this week, just in case?
He takes a moment, then smiles.
“Maybe. Maybe they just think we ain’t got Tyreek, so they’re just probably like, ‘Ah, they ain’t gonna run it no more,’” Hardman said. “But I don’t know. We’ll see.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Why Wasp isn’t just a Super Bowl memory for Chiefs: ‘It’s still a hard thing to stop’."
