KC Chiefs: Players who need to have career games vs Titans
The KC Chiefs are playing in a huge game this weekend and need these six players to have the game of their lives against the Tennessee Titans.
*EDITOR’S NOTE – Cameron Black, the staff member who wrote this, is blind, but has a great feel for the game, even without his vision. This article was written with the help of a screen reader.*
As the AFC Championship Game looms ahead, let’s take a look at the members of the Kansas City Chiefs who could have a profound impact on this game and help to insure the Chiefs first Super Bowl berth in 50 years.
Now, it would be easy to point to Patrick Mahomes, and heaven knows I could write an entire piece on just that, but I am going to try and avoid reaching for such low hanging fruit in this piece.. Instead, I’ll try and highlight a few other players whose impact will be just as key to a victory as Mahomes.
Let’s get to it!
SAMMY WATKINS
Let us start with the offense. Obviously Mahomes’ favorite target from last week – Travis Kelce – is always an X factor, but honestly, with 134 yards on ten catches, there is very little about Kelce I can say that he didn’t say for himself during that performance, so let us move on.
Someone who has been relatively quiet this year is Sammy Watkins. Indeed Watkins was only seen briefly during last Sunday’s thumping of the Texans, but what little was seen of him just proved what a huge factor he can be when put to use.
Last Sunday was mostly the Mahomes and Kelce show, but Watkins had two catches, which were for a total of 76 yards. That shows how much Watkins made those catches count. KC Kingdom’s own Leigh Oleszczak highlighted how vital Watkins has been to the Chiefs in the playoffs since he’s been in Kansas City.
Back at the beginning of the season against the Jaguars, Tyreek Hill was removed from the game due to injury and Watkins needed to fill the gap. Fill the gap he did, having a monstrous game with nine catches for 198 yards, just two yards shy of the 200 mark, and was the leading receiver in that game.
Not only can Watkins be a prolific receiver when given the opportunity, but he has shown a propensity for yards after contact; He gets tackled and just keeps rollin. Since Kelce had a huge game last Sunday, that gives me reason to believe that the Titans will be paying extra special attention to him and could have him bracketed all day this coming Sunday, which might result in him not being targeted as often as he was against the Texans.
In that event, obviously it is a chance for Tyreek “the Cheetah” Hill to do what he does, for last week he was fairly quiet as well, having only three catches for 46 yards, and could be a real opportunity for Watkins to have a career day as he did against the Jags to open the season.