Kayvon Thibodeaux has gotten his season off to a solid start. Through the first two games, the fourth-year edge rusher has registered 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup. However, the underlying stats show that he’s been better than the numbers in the box score show. Thibodeaux has eight total pressures through the first two games, which has him tied with Abdul Carter for the most on the team. This puts the 24-year-old on pace for 68 pressures on the season, which would shatter his previous career-high of 43 pressures in 2023.
Thibodeaux will be faced with a tough matchup on Sunday night. With Brian Burns taking a majority of the snaps on the right edge, Thibodeaux is likely to line up a lot on the left side. This would pit him against Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who has performed at a high level through the first two weeks. Taylor allowed two total pressures against the Chargers on 49 pass block snaps, and followed that up with zero pressures allowed on 41 pass block snaps against the Eagles. He has struggled with penalties, as he’s already been called for six this season.
Against the blitz, Mahomes has completed just six of 18 passes for 85 yards, one touchdown and one interception this year. His 44.9 passer rating against the blitz is the fourth-lowest in the league, while his 33.3 completion percentage is the second-lowest. He has been getting the ball out of his hands quicker than ever before, though. Mahomes’ 2.47 seconds average time to throw ranks as the second-quickest in the league and would be the lowest mark of his career. However, his 39.0 percent success rate on passes under 2.5 seconds ranks as the fourth-lowest in the NFL.
Through the first two games, Bobby Okereke has been a steadying force in the middle of the defense. The inside linebacker has had back-to-back games with double-digit tackles, totaling 26 over the two contests. Not only does he lead the NFL with his 26 total tackles, but Okereke has also done this while not missing a single tackle, according to NGS. He is the only player with more than 25 tackles on 100 percent efficiency in the first two games of a season since 2018.
No position has been hurt more by injuries than linebacker. Micah McFadden (foot) and Chris Board (chest) have both been placed on injured reserve, while Darius Muasau (concussion) and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf) have yet to practice this week. These injuries highlight Okereke’s importance to the defense even more. Chiefs running backs have struggled to get things going as Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt have both totaled just 47 yards through two games.
However, that production has been made up in part thanks to the legs of Mahomes. The talented quarterback has had 13 rush attempts for 123 yards and two touchdowns already, which puts him on pace to shatter his previous career-highs in rushing attempts, yards, yards per attempt, and touchdowns. All of his carries have been on scrambles, not designed runs, which means Okereke and the rest of the defense will have to keep a close eye on the quarterback tucking the ball and running.