The Kansas City Chiefs needed all hands on deck Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to the latest surge of COVID-19 cases that have plagued the NFL in recent weeks. The long list of players that did not clear league protocols in Week 16 included one of the most critical pieces of the Chiefs’ offense in tight end, Travis Kelce.
In a pivotal game where a win meant clinching the division for a sixth consecutive season, the Chiefs needed someone to step up in place of the best tight end in the league. That someone was third-year receiver, Byron Pringle.
Kansas City waited all year for one of their depth receivers to stake their claim as the undisputable starter opposite Tyreek Hill. However, nobody stepped up to firmly secure the role. Many had their eyes on third-year receiver Mecole Hardman to quickly take the reins after veteran Sammy Watkins got released – which never happened. Instead, Hardman has seen less of the field, receiving under 45% of the offensive snaps since mid-November (Week 10), and has been benched altogether on special teams.
Which helped create an opportunity for Pringle to have one of the best games of his career thus far while showing the coaching staff he can be the guy they’ve been looking for on offense.
Pringle caught six passes for 75 yards and put up two receiving touchdowns for his first multi-score game in his career.
His first TD grab occurred with 1:14 in the first quarter, while the Chiefs’ offensive line gave quarterback Patrick Mahomes all day to go through his receiving options, Pringle weaved his way through Pittsburgh’s coverage to the middle of the end zone, where Mahomes found him for the second score of the day.
“I was just bouncing in one spot, waiting for him to roll out left or right,” Pringle told reporters after the game on Sunday. “And he rolled left, and I just tried to get him, to give him, a quarterback view. Playing with Pat, you got to stay alive, so that’s what I did.”
The five-yard score finished off an eight-play drive that traveled 44 yards starting at mid-field and put the Chiefs up 14-0 early over the Steelers.
His second score was even more impressive. At the 9:00 mark in the third quarter, on the Pittsburgh 16-yard line, Mahomes connected with Pringle at the nine on a simple crossing route. Afterwhich, Pringle stiff-armed through one tackle before stopping on a dime to duck under a Pittsburgh defender to evade another tackle, juking out a third guy in the process before trotting into the end zone.
The score put a cap on another eight-play drive that began in the middle of the field and extended Kansas City’s lead to 30 unanswered points. But for Pringle, this play was more than just getting into the end zone; it was about keeping the play alive rather than settling for a minimal gain inside the 10-yard line.
“Just know never give up on yourself,” Pringle said. “Just keep working, keep grinding, don’t look at who’s in front of you, who’s behind you, who’s on the side of you — just keep going day in, day out.”
That particular play took grit and determination to pull off, but it wasn’t just the two scoring plays that put Pringle in prime position to secure the role as the third receiving option and second starting receiver. Pringle got 80% of the offensive snaps on Sunday – the most out of all the skill position players NOT named Mahomes – and was the most targeted receiver that day with seven passes that went his way.
This means Pringle is gaining the trust of Andy Reid’s coaching staff, and it’s clear he’s earning Mahomes’ trust to look his way as another go-to guy other than Kelce or Hill.
“He plays hard,” Mahomes said Sunday. “He just goes out there, and he puts it all out there.”
Pringle is currently having the best season of his career with 34 catches for 477 yards and five receiving touchdowns. He’s also been involved heavily in the return game with a career-high 21 kick returns for 525 yards.
The Kansas State alum had a defining performance on Sunday. With two games left in the regular season, he’ll look to prove further to the coaches he can be a true number two receiver when the Chiefs travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals.
