I'm not sure if the Kansas City Chiefs have faced a more must-win upcoming three-game slate in quite a while than what they are about to get. Two home games versus the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, as well as a game in Atlanta to face the Falcons in between those two.
After two consecutive losses and a fight for the AFC West that will last all season, every win is even more magnified. It starts today versus the 2-6 Jets, and while the record says that they are a bad team, there is a lot of talent that has been fairly well coached by Aaron Glenn this season.
In reality, the Chiefs are a much better football team than New York, with a gargantuan quarterback advantage in Patrick Mahomes over Geno Smith. They are at home, seething for a win. Everybody has to come and play today, but there are a trio of Chiefs players who could stand to have an outsized impact on the game.
Kansas City faces a must-win outing against the Jets, and these three Chiefs should have a big impact
Emmett Johnson
The fifth-round rookie running back out of Nebraska is coming off his best game of his young career with over 140 yards from scrimmage that included a 73-yard touchdown reception. Kenneth Walker III is and should be the Chiefs' lead back and number one offensive playmaker. But Johnson proved that he needs the ball in his hands more, especially with how little KC's receivers have been providing in recent weeks.
The Jets are a middle-of-the-pack rushing defense, which should fare well for the backfield duo. But Johnson has done most of his damage this year through the air. I would not be surprised if there were more snaps in this game with both backs in the game, with Walker in the backfield and Johnson used in a variety of ways in the passing game.
Travis Kelce
Over these pair of losses, Kelce hasn't been necessarily a non-factor, as he has combined for 9 catches on 15 targets for over 110 yards. But he has been called for a costly penalty in each loss that has backed the offense up and made it harder for the Chiefs to score when they needed it.
It remains organizational mismanagement to continue to put the burden on 37-year-old Travis Kelce to be the number one pass-catching option for Mahomes, but that's where we are at this point, assuming the Chiefs don't add a true number one receiver at the trade deadline. Kansas City might need a couple of big Kelce catches and runs in this one, as he was prime to produce in earlier weeks.
Chris Roland-Wallace
Much like Johnson, Chris Roland Wallace is coming off his best game as a pro as well. CRW took over the starting slot role from the injured L'Jarius Sneed and has run with it, accounting for 10 tackles (1 TFL) and two pass deflections during this Chiefs skid. It's clear he has more juice than the veteran Sneed and should look to build upon that today.
Breece Hall is one of the more dynamic running backs in the league, and because Roland-Wallace plays so many of his snaps close to the line of scrimmage and is used in a multitude of ways by Steve Spagnuolo, there will be a couple of plays where he finds himself one-on-one with Breece Hall. Roland-Wallace making those tackles could be the difference between a five-yard rush and a 50-yarder.
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