‘Confident’ Kansas City Chiefs hitting stride at right time on both sides | FNIA | NFL on NBC
get to the Kansas City Chiefs, the other team that we saw in last year’s Super Bowl, and they seem to be getting back on track. They got Xavier Worthy back and that was a big boost, but sort of got right against the Giants on Sunday Night Football and then got more right this past week. Rod, how do we view Kansas City right now with some of their guys starting to come back? I think it like I think like coach said um this past week they’re getting healthier and I I love the fact that Xavier Worthy I mean this young man he’s come in I know his first game I gave him a hard time calling him a little skinny dude but his energy and the speed that he plays with had a huge impact on this entire team. I love the Chief the fact that the Chiefs are getting back to taking shots down the field even though Patrick Mahomes he’s not he’s not connecting on a lot of them coach but the fact that they can throw the ball that they’re actually threatening a defense I think that that really helped the run game and and being able to spread the ball around. No, no question about it. For the first time this past Sunday, I saw just drop back five steps, let it go on rhythm, making some plays down the field. What we had seen in the past was the only way they got big plays was Mahomes moving around, but they did some stuff on rhythm and that that was promising to me. The other thing was just the opposite of what we’re talking about with Philadelphia. We had them they’re one and two. The whole world is saying, “You guys are trash.” And what did we hear from their players and coaches? Hey, we’re going to be fine. We’re going to pull out of this. We’re coming together. We know what we have to do. There was no uh anti- anything. It was just, hey, we’ll we’ll get this together and I I think starting to get these guys healthy. When Rice comes back, I I think they’re going to be something. You start looking at within the division, too. And and now all of a sudden, you start to say, “Wow, the the Chargers lost three offensive linemen. The Chiefs are getting healthier.” And now all of a sudden, you start to see that the Chiefs I mean, yeah, that the Chiefs are a very dangerous team, especially now with this run game starting to take place. And when the Chiefs are able to run the football and throw the football with some consistency, and you know, Steve Spagnola is gonna have that defense, right, coach? They’re very tough to deal with. Let’s not forget about that. Baltimore was the number one scoring team in football last week. Everybody thought, and I, including me, thought they were going to go in there and put up a bunch of points on the Chiefs. The Chiefs basically held them to 13 until a garbage touchdown when their second team was in there. holding that unit to 13 points. That that’s Steve Spagnolo and they they feel confident they can do that. So, uh yeah, I would say the same thing. Look out for the Chiefs. I I like where the Chiefs are right now. Now, now the biggest concern to me still is that right tackle spot, Jawan Taylor. We’ve talked about that a lot. He’s by far the lowest graded offensive lineman in the group at a 45 grade. Now, the problem with that is they’re paying for that problem. you know, he was somebody that they paid, they brought in to help him on the right side of the offensive line. The plus is Simmons over at the left tackle spot has been a good find for them and I think he will get better throughout the course of this year. And it’s interesting, too, could receiver pass catcher go from weakness, obviously they’re without two of their best guys and a slow start to the year to now Taekquin Thornton as a result gets himself in that circle of trust. So now you’re gonna have Thornton another guy worthy healthy. Rasheed Rice gets back. Hollywood Brown becomes that third fourth opt Noah Gray. That’s a lot of guys that they could potentially have when they get themselves fully right. Go ahead, Rod. But that’s that’s what makes them dangerous and that’s the thing that really made the Chiefs dangerous. It’s one guy that you couldn’t focus on. Of course, Travis Kelce, he was the key guy when he was younger, flying around making plays. Now you have to, and this this is the thing that makes it very difficult to have to defend, coach, because you can’t go in there with one game plan saying we have to stop this one guy. You have to be concerned with everybody. And when everybody steps up and Guju’s making touchdowns and guys are not complaining about how many catches they’re getting, this team is dangerous, man. And Andy Reid, and you talk about Jawan Taylor, and I I I watch Jawan Taylor and he’s given more effort. He at least is trying to get better when you watch him play. So, it’s not perfect and they’re going to always have to chip and help him out and devise plays to try to work within the scheme. But overall, man, I like where the offensive line is at and I like his effort. He’s at least trying. And be what Jack said, that’s a great point. The left tackle is now a little more solid. So, you don’t have to help both sides. You only have to look at that one side. And Mahomes now can eyeball that right side. I don’t have to worry about my backside as much. Now that left end who’s rushing and giving Taylor problems, he’s still got to be careful. He comes inside too fast, there goes Mahomes. He gets up field, Mahomes ducks underneath. So, um, I think solving that left tackle problem has really helped them. And they might have found another guy too in that Smith, that young running back. He’s giving them some juice just like Pacheco did when he came in as a late round choice. And you’ll see with that juice that that young that young running back is giving, Pacheco’s gonna up his game and you see Hump up their game because now it’s competition. Yes. Hi, I’m Mike Trico and thanks for watching. Make sure to hit subscribe for the latest news and highlights from NBC Sports.
The FNIA crew dive into the Kansas City Chiefs’ two-game winning streak, detailing how Xavier Worthy’s return ignited a spark for a stale offense and Steve Spagnuolo’s aggressive defense is coming together. #NFL #FNIA #NBCSports
» Subscribe to NBC Sports: https://www.youtube.com/nbcsports?sub_confirmation=1
» Watch SNF on Peacock: https://peacocktv.smart.link/v82e9dl56
» Get more NFL news on NBC Sports: https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl
NBC Sports Group serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. NBC Sports is an established leader in the sports media landscape with an unparalleled collection of sports properties that include the Olympics, NFL, Premier League, Big Ten, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, the Kentucky Derby, Tour de France and many more. Subscribe to our channel for the latest sporting news and highlights!
Sunday Night is Football Night on NBC as SNF continues to be America’s #1 Primetime show. NBC is also home to two NFL playoff games each season – one Wild Card Playoff game and one Divisional Playoff game – and offers full streaming rights on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App.
Emmy Award winners Cris Collinsworth and Mike Tirico follow all the action from the booth, along with Melissa Stark from the field.
Visit NBC Sports: https://www.nbcsports.com
Find NBC Sports on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NBCSports
Follow NBC Sports on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nbcsports
Follow NBC Sports on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nbcsports/
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/sunday-night-football
https://nbcsports.com/motors/nascar
https://nbcsports.com/soccer/premier-league
‘Confident’ Kansas City Chiefs hitting stride at right time on both sides | FNIA | NFL on NBC
https://www.youtube.com/nbcsports