KC Chiefs: Players who need to have career games vs Titans

DAMIEN WILLIAMS

We all know what an explosive offense this is, and all of us want to see Mahomes throw for 300+ yards to nine different targets, but this might be the most crucial game this season to finally establish a semblance of a run game, that for the most part has been absent throughout the season.

One of the keys to stopping Derrick Henry is making sure that he stays on the bench. I love those explosive “Mahomes” plays as much as anybody, but when the Chiefs score too quickly, it gives the other team plenty of time to answer. With Henry in the back field, the Titans don’t need a lot of time.

The only time that Henry is fully neutralized is when he is on the bench, and the way to keep him there is for the Chiefs to establish a run game of their own. While the run game has been somewhat absent this season, we have seen flashes of brilliance from Damien Williams, who has shown that he can break off a big run or two.

The Chiefs wouldn’t be asking that he pick up 15-20 yards on every run, if even just 5-7 yards a play could be achieved, it would make for a more then respectable running game. A lot of the times, Williams’ stat sheet can be a bit misleading because his one big run put him well over 100 yards on the day whereas otherwise he might have only had 40ish yards or so. That’s what the Chiefs will want from Williams on Sunday; one big run.

Not to mention, if the Chiefs create a run game, that will set up the play action pass from Mahomes that Chiefs fans love to see, feeding into the success of guys like Watkins and Hill which I mentioned earlier.

CHIEFS OFFENSIVE LINE

This one isn’t a player, but it’s hard to single out just one guy along the offensive line because they’re all so important.

The key to having a successful run game is good run blocking, so this will be a huge game for the entire Chiefs offensive line. The job description of an offensive lineman is mainly to keep your quarterback safe, and while that is absolutely priority numero uno, it is just as important to provide protection to your backs as they are churning to create a running game.

If the Chiefs offensive line can provide that blocking, keep the hands of the defensive line full, and allow the back to shoot the gap, that would give time to a player like Williams or McCoy to at least make it into the secondary, roughly five-7 yards down field. That is a successful run play.

Not only is the offensive line key to the running game, but the most obvious need for a well-oiled O line is the one I stated earlier, and that is keeping our young quarterback on his feet and able to make those fire work plays.