The Chiefs did it again—those complete madmen! If you think I’m talking about their latest game-winning field goal, which bounced off the upright by just a single inch, well, you’d be wrong. If you think I’m talking about them making the Bills regret cutting Mata by watching him crush a 58-yard punt down to the 2-yard line, you’d still be wrong. What I’m really talking about is how, for the first time ever, the Chiefs made the bold decision to have a safety handle the kickoff duties. Yes, a safety. And not only that, but they did it with a healthy kicker and punter on the roster who could have taken the job.

We’d heard rumors that teams might experiment with defensive players kicking off after the rule changes about alternative kickers. But until today, we hadn’t seen it in action. Enter Justin Reid, the Chiefs’ safety, who is actually really good at kicking off. Sure, we don’t know how much of his kick placement was due to skill versus just kicking it as hard as he could and hoping for a touchback, but what we do know is that he nailed all five of his kickoffs with impressive hang time, and his kicks were directionally placed, likely by design.

What stood out to me the most was that four out of the five kickoffs were what I call “decision balls.” A decision ball is one of those kicks that lands around the 1- or 2-yard line, or even 2 or 3 yards deep in the end zone. At that point, the returner doesn’t have great spatial awareness and might hesitate about whether to return the ball or take the touchback. That slight hesitation can be costly. And we saw that play out when Justin Reid’s kicks resulted in the Chargers starting at their 21-yard line on back-to-back possessions—excellent field position for the Chiefs. When one of his kicks landed at the 4-yard line, the returner was forced to return it, resulting in a 37-yard return.

Now, you might wonder, “Has having a safety as the kicker paid off yet?” Not yet, but it’s a small sample size. We’ll have to wait and see. Reid could make a game-changing tackle down the road. But what I think sets him apart is his ability to contest the ball when the returner tries to break away. He might even force a fumble. In a world where trick kickoffs are becoming rarer, I truly believe position players could be the future of kickoff duties. And of course, it’s the Chiefs who are leading the charge. This is definitely something to keep an eye on.

The Chiefs may have just broken the kickoff game, and if other teams catch on, it could change the way we think about special teams.