Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub spoke with reporters on Thursday. He explained the fake punt execution process from Week 4 with punter Matt Araiza.
"It's a pre-snap: seeing what they do. When they bailed out, and they had a light box, we had an automatic fake there. It's really all it was. We saw something earlier in the season that they've done, and we just thought that if they did it again, that we had a good opportunity," said Toub. "I'm always looking for something because I know how fast (Matt) Araiza is, and he's a great athlete. That kind of opportunity to be able to take off like that."
After their first drive stalled and threatened to turn into a three-and-out, the Chiefs quickly pulled a trick out of their hat to convert a first down. Araiza fooled the entire stadium by faking a punt and running for a clutch 12-yard first down. His performance earned him the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award.
Araiza became the fourth Chiefs punter to earn the honor and the first since Tommy Townsend in 2022. He punted five times for 238 yards (47.6 yards per punt) and pinned all five inside the 20-yard line.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Dave Toub explains the fake punt decision process from Week 4