Huddle Up

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs paid tribute to the late Len Dawson with this awesome “Choir Huddle”

August 26, 2022

Earlier this week, Kansas City Chiefs legend, AFL trailblazer, and Super Bowl IV champion Len Dawson passed away at the age of 87. It was a sad day for football fans across America. Everywhere you looked, you were greeted with the indelible image of Dawson sucking down a cigarette and a Sprite during halftime of Super Bowl I. Tributes rolled from all across the sports world, but none more impactful than the one Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense unveiled on Thursday, huddling for the first snap of their final preseason game in the same “choir” formation that Dawson famously used to corral his guys. Check it out.

Classy move by the Chiefs, classy move by Mahomes. You really do love to see it. Football has come a long way since Dawson’s heyday—the shotgun, the spread, Instagram, TikTok—but some things are ageless. The huddle, no matter what shape it takes, is one of them. It is the purest example of a quarterback’s bond with his offense, whether he’s running the Power I or the read option. To see Dawson’s iconic version recreated in the modern game is enough to put goosebumps on the arms and a lump in the throat.

As for the Chiefs, well they bested the Packers—Dawson’s Super Bowl I opponents—by the very ‘60s score of 17-10. Both Chiefs touchdowns were caught by reserve tight end Matt Bushman. If that isn’t a fitting throwback, we don’t know what is.