On forgiving Dee Ford, who had dual roles in this Super Bowl matchup
In the wake of one wrenching instant last season, Chiefs fans might have come to invoke Dee Ford's name any number of ways that doubtless included unprintable rants and mutterings.
But there are a zillion reasons to consider letting go of any lingering rage over his fateful offside penalty in the AFC Championship Game last season.
Most practically and profoundly, the Chiefs might well not be in the Super Bowl now if not for the 37-31 overtime loss to New England that became the catalyst for the extreme overhaul of the defense that was pivotal in their path to Miami.
But let's start with that it's a waste of precious goodwill and energy to make Ford a scapegoat. And that we all do things we regret. And that Ford continuously has been the epitome of grace and inspiration in how he's handled it from the get-go by immediately holding himself liable.
If sports is supposed to teach us that it's not what happens to you but how you handle it that matters, Ford embodies that.
Now, he conveys a model balance of contrition and proceeding with his life as he enters into this surreal twist of preparing to play against the Chiefs for the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday.
As he engaged waves of reporters Monday at Super Bowl Opening Night, Ford's steady refrain ultimately was something we might all relate to when it comes to life's miserable misadventures: “I have to let it go in order to move forward.”
When I asked him if he had to find some sort of compartment to stash it in, he said, “It's in the compartment of other bad plays that you wish you had back, know what I mean? At the end of the day, it was something that happened, and I was on the short end of the stick. But I got over it, and I had to get back to work. That's all I could do.”
Meanwhile, the fundamental truth is that just because one play seemed to encapsulate the minuscule margin of defeat in the 37-31 overtime loss to New England, it isn't the same as the reason why the Chiefs lost.
The outcome could have been different if the Chiefs, say, had won the coin toss going into overtime. Or if the entire defensive unit hadn't been exposed and dissected by Tom Brady on the decisive drive.
For that matter, as right tackle Mitchell Schwartz recently suggested, perhaps Brady only threw the pass intercepted by Charvarius Ward because he figured he had a free play when the flag on Ford
was thrown that ultimately negated the interception. And, and, and …
“We scored zero points in the first half. So, if we score any points in the first half, then he's not in that position anyway,” Schwartz said, later adding, “Football is never about the one specific play. I never put that on him. … Honestly, that was never a thought.”
The loss, though, was clarifying for the Chiefs. Had they won and advanced to that Super Bowl, who's to say whether such bold changes were in the works? Instead, the loss amplified the point that their defense was about the only thing that could stop the virtually supernatural Patrick Mahomes.
Within days, defensive coordinator Bob Sutton was fired, soon to be replaced by Steve Spagnuolo and a revamped staff and new scheme. Shortly thereafter, the Chiefs purged the likes of Justin Houston, Eric Berry and Ford to clear room financially and perhaps
emotionally for Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark.
Ford, a 2014 first-round pick for the Chiefs, had been slow to find his way, then hampered by injuries before flourishing in a 2018 season that he said began with more trouble than it ended with.
“I wasn't even supposed to be playing; I came off my second back surgery that I had to beg my surgeon to do,” he said, later adding, “I came into training camp, and I was 25 pounds underweight that year.
“So I've been through worse things than (living with the offside). You have to block out the negative, focus on the positive.”
In this case, that was enabled for all with a trade to San Francisco that Ford indicated was a mutual project because he “felt like (his) chapter had been written in Kansas City” with the Chiefs making such changes.
As the Chiefs were reforming their defense, Ford was becoming part of something special in San Francisco as this wild collision course was set in motion. Injuries held him back much of the season, but Ford is a pass-rushing asset for a salty 49ers defense and had a sack in their NFC Divisional playoff victory over Minnesota.
Just because he plays for San Francisco now, though, doesn't mean he didn't leave some of his heart in Kansas City. He remains grateful for the time here that still resonates in his life.
When he thinks of the Chiefs, for instance, he speaks of the influence of Berry, the former Chiefs safety. Calling the cancer survivor “a living angel,” Ford said Berry “has the biggest heart, the biggest spirit that you could ever be around. Most inspirational. I mean, his walk of life shows it.”
Among others, Ford brings up his ongoing relationships with linebacker Anthony Hitchens and defensive lineman Chris Jones, with whom he's been in touch this postseason. For his part, Jones recently said Ford “taught me a lot … just about life.”
When told about Clark's recent comments calling lining up offside “inexcusable,” Ford said, “He's right. It's inexcusable.” Then he smiled and added, “But don't we all do it?”
Entering this matchup he helped create in more ways than one, Ford maintains a certain reverence for the Chiefs offense, calling it “Harlem Globetrotter-like” and noting its speed and Mahomes' “crazy” poise. Given their relationship, he figures it “will be funny” when he hits Mahomes for the first time and that they'll perhaps exchange some playful words … as he reckons he will with a bunch of what he called “old brothers.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. We've got a lot to talk about,” said a smiling Ford, who also said, “It's going to be just like training camp all over again Sunday night.”
With reminders everywhere of the fundamental lapse that set this all in motion — including both the Chiefs and Ford being able to get on with their next chapters by owning the consequences.
“It teaches you a lot about life,” Ford said, “if you can have that type of approach to any situation.”