KC Chiefs: Sammy Watkins has been different player in postseason

By Leigh Oleszczak | Jan 14, 2020

Sammy Watkins #14 of the Kansas City Chiefs (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

The KC Chiefs gave Sammy Watkins a lot of money to be their stud wide receiver and he’s mostly disappointed in that role. During the postseason, however, he’s been great.

Prior to the 2018 season, the Kansas City Chiefs inked Sammy Watkins to a large contract that, for the most part, he has not lived up to. He finished the 2018 season with 519 yards and three touchdowns and in 2019 had 673 yards and three touchdowns. Take away his explosive week one performance, and he had just 475 yards and zero touchdowns.

While those numbers aren’t great for a guy paid to be THE number one option, Watkins has been a different player in the three playoff games he’s been in as a Chief.

Here have been his stats for his three playoff games with the Chiefs:

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Divisional Round vs Colts – 6 receptions for 62 yards
AFC Championship vs Patriots – 4 receptions for 114 yards
Divisional Round vs Texans – 2 receptions for 76 yards, 1 rush for 14 yards

Those are some good numbers for a guy who doesn’t do much in the regular season other than steal money from the Chiefs. While he only had two receptions this past Sunday, he made both receptions count, with one being for 48 yards and another going for 28 yards. He also had a 14 yard run.

This is what Chiefs fans want to see from Watkins. It’s too late for him to do anything in the regular season now, but if he can up the ante in the playoffs and get this offense down the field on a big play when needed, who cares what he did or didn’t do in the regular season?

Watkins very well could be a cap casualty this offseason, so playing well benefits everyone involved. If he does well and KC cuts him, maybe another team falls for the trap again.

Travis Kelce was obviously the best weapon on the field on Sunday with his three touchdown performance and Damien Williams followed behind him with three touchdowns of his own, Watkins was arguably the next best weapon on offense. He caught both balls sent his way and made the most of those receptions, averaging 38 yards per catch.

The Titans have a better defense than the Texans, but if Watkins can continue to thrive in playoff games, he could end up being the difference maker in this one. It sounds crazy, but football is a crazy game.

Here’s to hoping Sammy Watkins has a repeat of his week one performance against the Titans!

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