Chiefs’ Kadarius Toney delivers Giants dagger as Super Bowl game-changer

GLENDALE, Ariz. — It had been a delightful Super Bowl week for the Giants brass, which celebrated rookie head coach Brian Daboll being named NFL Coach of the Year. 

Then Super Bowl LVII arrived on Sunday and Kadarius Toney took over the game in the second half of the Chiefs 38-35 thriller of a victory over the Eagles. 

Toney, of course, was drafted by the Giants in 2021 and was more of a headache than the productive skill-position star he was drafted to be. He spent more time off the field than on the field, most often with a hamstring injury the team didn’t believe was serious enough to keep him sidelined for as long as he was. 

Finally, Daboll and Giants general manager Joe Schoen had seen enough and decided to rid themselves of the headache, dealing Toney, whom they didn’t draft, to the Chiefs. 

So, there Toney was on Sunday night in Arizona, turning the Super Bowl upside down with a 65-yard punt return in the fourth quarter that gave the Chiefs a first-and-goal from the Philadelphia 5-yard line with 10:11 remaining in the game. 

Three plays later, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected with rookie receive Skyy Moore on a 4-yard TD pass to give the Chiefs a 35-27 lead with 9:22 remaining. 

Three minutes earlier, Toney, who played one offensive play in the first half, caught a 5-yard TD pass from Mahomes to give the Chiefs a 28-27 lead after they’d trailed 24-14 at the half. 

The Giants’ move to trade Toney was understandable addition by subtraction for them at the time. But the way Toney has fit in so seamlessly in Kansas City, climaxed by his explosive contribution in the Super Bowl, hasn’t been a good look — particularly considering how the Giants struggled with injuries at the receiver position this season. 

“Bro, I don’t know what the Giants were doing with KT, but he’s a dog,’’ Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said. “And [Brett] Veach [the Chiefs general manager] and Andy Reid? Bro, they know how to pick and choose how to go get pieces to fit into the puzzle for this team.’’ 

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, standing outside his team’s locker room, raved about Toney. 

“Kadarius, since he joined us, has had a tremendous half season — particularly once he got past the hamstring injury,’’ Hunt told The Post. “His game tonight was tremendous. He clearly made a big difference in the game for us.’’ 

Toney was beaming after the game, flashing that shiny silver grill on his teeth with every smile. 

“Right now I’m just grateful, man, just thankful for the organization really accepting me and letting me be the player I can be,’’ Toney said. “Man, coming here, the environment was life changing. You can just only imagine the coaches and the entire organization. The energy that you feel in the building day in and day out is different. It makes you want to go out there and be the best player you can be. 

“I’m surrounded by the MVP [Mahomes], the top tight end in the league [Travis Kelce] and just trying to fit in and be the best player I can be.’’ 

It’s worked in a way the Giants could never imagine after their disjointed time with him. 

Toney on the TD catch, said, “It was a motion I ran really that drew me open. Whoever is going to the flat is probably the number one read, so me coming back out and open the way I was open was kind of surprising. I wanted to score. I wanted to get in that end zone, whether there was someone there or not.’’ 

Toney on the punt return, said. “It was a right return, and they gave us a bad punt and I just had to go out there and make a play. I was just making a play. The punter kicked the ball where we wanted it. On film, he was lining up straight and kicking right, but that one he kicked it left and it kind of threw everyone off. 

“I saw a shanked kick. Any play like that I’m trying to make a play.’’ 

He made a lot of play for the world to see — not the least of whom was his former team. 

When asked about the uneven journey with the Giants, Toney preferred not to look back. 

“I went to a different [place] and I had to put my best foot forward,’’ he said. “I’m a champion right now, so I don’t really care [about the past].’’