The Kansas City Chiefs have one of their biggest challenges yet in Week 5 of the 2023 NFL season. How do you go about slowing down the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year in Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson?
L’Jarius Sneed did some more shadowing of top receivers in 2022, but this year they’ve been trying to strictly keep him outside with either Trent McDuffie or rookie DB Chamarri Conner getting snaps in the slot. Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo expects that Sneed will get some matchups against Jefferson, but they’ll still with McDuffie and Conner on Jefferson when he lines up in the slot.
“He’s proven that he’s an elite wide receiver in this league,” Spagnuolo said. “We won’t always be able to get LJ (L'Jarius Sneed) on him, they move him around enough, they get him inside, so there will be some times when that won’t happen. It will be a good battle if they end up across the line of scrimmage from each other.”
As for the safety group, Mike Edwards stressed the importance of rallying to the football in Week 5.
“You mentioned (Vikings WR) Justin Jefferson,” Edwards said. “He’s one of the best receivers in the game right now, so we’ve got to take away him – his explosive plays, we know what he likes to do. (We’ve) got to stop yards after the catch.”
It’s going to take a group effort to limit the damage and ensure that Jefferson doesn’t wreck the game for the Chiefs.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes admitted it himself — he hasn’t been playing his best to start the 2023 NFL season. His game against the New York Jets in Week 4 was his worst performance in quite some time. How exactly will he go about bouncing back? Travis Kelce weighed in.
“He’s dialed in man, he’s dialed in,” Kelce said of Mahomes. “He’s one of the best quarterbacks to ever do this thing because of how he can move on from things, how he can learn from things, and make sure that he’s just you know being the best he can for the guys around him and for the organization he’s in front of. I expect him to go out there and be Pat Mahomes, baby, nothing less.”
We’ll see what type of magic Mahomes can summon against the Vikings in Week 5.
Former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Shawn Barber sits down with former Chiefs wide receiver Danan Hughes to talk about his career, the first quarter of the Chiefs season, and some valuable life lessons.
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Oct. 8: Chiefs at Vikings - Regular Season Week 5
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