There was a minute there on Sunday, around 2 p.m. local time, when no one had to squint too hard to envision a torch passing at Arrowhead Stadium, between the resident powerhouse Chiefs and Shane Steichen’s upstart Colts.
The reigning AFC champions were down 20–9, facing second-and-10 from the Colts’ 17-yard line. Kareem Hunt took the handoff from Patrick Mahomes and, five yards downfield, Zaire Franklin fought through Chiefs LT Josh Simmons before corralling Hunt and stripping the ball as the two went to the ground. It was a borderline-impossible play by Franklin, the kind that has killed K.C. this year. Ex-Chief Charvarius Ward was there to dive on the ball.
