Kansas City Chiefs: Four players to watch vs Buccaneers in Week 12

Demarcus Robinson

Last week’s game was a rough one for Demarcus Robinson. The Chiefs wide receiver dropped key passes, fumbled the ball, and ran backward in the game against the Raiders. It was no wonder that when it came down to going for it on 4th down that Robinson was left wide open, as the Raiders thought maybe he’d continue to make mistakes (he didn’t that time, fortunately).

The great thing about football is that players have a chance to make up for poor play the next week and that’s what Robinson is going to look to do this weekend in Tampa. He’ll really need to up the ante on the gridiron this weekend because Sammy Watkins is still out and Byron Pringle is on IR.

The Bucs secondary is terrible, meaning the Chiefs will do their best to exploit them down the field. Robinson has to hold onto the football if Patrick Mahomes throws the ball his way. This season hasn’t gone according to plan for Robinson and if he wants a shot at signing a decent deal this offseason, he needs to show something down the stretch.

Mecole Hardman

Sticking with the wide receivers, it’s time for Mecole Hardman to step it up. I mentioned in Robinson’s section how Watkins and Pringle are both out, so Robinson and/or Hardman need to do something.

Hardman was just coming off the COVID list ahead of last week’s game, which probably explains why he caught just one pass in the win over Vegas. Now that he’s had a full week of practice, Hardman needs to be a focal point of the Chiefs offensive game plan on Sunday.

Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce can’t continue to do all of the work. Time for someone else to step up and show something.