SALT LAKE CITY — In almost a deja vu version of a victory several weeks earlier, the Utah Blaze were able to hold off the relentless Kansas City Command with another last-second blocked PAT.
Friday's block on the NFL Network at EnergySolutions Arena helped the Blaze keep their playoff hopes alive and well with the 61-60 win.
It wasn't the first time Caesar Rayford saved his best move for the final drive. In a previous win against San Jose, the 6-foot-7 defensive lineman busted through the line of scrimmage and slammed down the game tying PAT attempt.
In a mirror image of his first — Rayford saved the day once again.
"It's like a chess match — all game we were settin' up — rushin' wide, rushin' wide," said Rayford of the final play. "So I knew he was gonna probably jump me outside, so I was gonna spin on 'em 'cause I hadn't done it all day. It was like the tip of my hand — at first I thought it went through."
It marks the first time this season that Utah (7-7) won back-to-back games.
"You have to be playing your better football towards the end of the year," said Utah coach Ron James.
The game was similar to a boat rocking on troubled waters as neither team was able to separate from one another throughout the entire contest — in large part due to the inability to get defensive stops.
On five separate occasions, Utah had the chance to put an end to a long Kansas City (5-10) drive on fourth and long. All five times — the Command either scored the following play or picked up the first down.
"It's disappointing because we wanted to keep them behind schedule. We did that for much of the first half and yet we weren't able to convert on the fourth downs," James said. "If we were able to convert on just two of those we would have gained the possessions we were looking to gain and the game would have been out of reach."
The Blaze offense bailed out its defense several times as quarterback Tommy Grady completed his first 12 pass attempts and for the second straight week, Alvance Robinson and Aaron Lesue combined for eight touchdown receptions.
"That's just the offense. The offensive system is great," stated Robinson on the diversity of the production on offense. "You don't know who's gonna get the ball, and Tommy is the type of guy that just doesn't zero in on one receiver."
Utah had recaptured the 61-54 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation on Robinson's fifth TD snag when the Command gained possession on its own three yard line.
Kansas City, which dominated in time of possession by 21 minutes, then embarked on a drive that milked the rest of the fourth quarter. On the ninth play of the drive, quarterback Steve Wasil found Bret Smith on fourth down to pull within one.
However, in a surprising move — the Command elected to try and force overtime rather than go for the win. Kansas City came into the game well out of playoff contention and had already attempted a two-point conversion earlier in the game and succeeded — not to mention the Command had already missed three PAT kicks.
"We expected when they came out with the extra point team that they were going to go for two like they did earlier," James said. "When they came out with the kicking team, I thought 'here we go, it's gonna be a fake.' We played a block front and Caesar made a great move and put the thing down."
Email: tphibbs@desnews.com