The Chiefs and Sun Tzu’s Element of Surprise

Something I’ve been thinking about watching the Chiefs is how well they utilize the element of surprise as described in Art of War as a way to win critical moments in football games.

They are particularly good at not spoiling their ability to surprise by surprising too often. A surprise has to be rare to be potent. You can’t show your hand all season and all game and expect to surprise your opponent when it matters most.

The AFC championship had great examples of this. The designed run play by Mahomes and the blitz to stop the Bills final drive being two.