{"id":10737,"date":"2025-01-16T12:01:24","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T12:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=10737"},"modified":"2025-01-16T12:01:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T12:01:24","slug":"breaking-chiefs-defense-at-full-strength-for-the-playoffs-with-the-return-of-jaylen-watson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=10737","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Chiefs defense at full strength for the playoffs with the return of Jaylen Watson"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Sep<\/p>\n

KANSAS CITY, Mo. \u2014 Every prominent member of the Chiefs defense realized something significant last Friday before practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be the first time everybody on the defense is healthy and playing,\u201d defensive end Charles Omenihu said Wednesday. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be good. \u2026 We\u2019ll be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The veteran who returned to the practice field last week and who is expected to return from injured reserve in time for Saturday\u2019s divisional-round playoff game against the Houston Texans is cornerback Jaylen Watson.<\/p>\n

Watson could start Saturday and play a majority of the snaps after he was a full participant in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. His addition should strengthen the secondary.<\/p>\n

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will have all 18 of his starting and rotational players healthy and at his disposal in a tactical effort to disrupt the Texans offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think these next two (practices) will be really important,\u201d Spagnuolo said Wednesday of Watson. \u201cHe needs to get up to the speed of the game \u2014 and it\u2019s not regular-season speed. It\u2019s playoff speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Week 7, Watson suffered a fractured fibula and tibia in his left leg early during the Chiefs\u2019 win over the San Francisco 49ers. At that time, the Chiefs were worried that Watson\u2019s injury would end his season. Before his injury, Watson had played 90 percent or more of the Chiefs\u2019 defensive snaps in each of the first five games of this season, recording 32 tackles and six pass breakups, which tied his career high.<\/p>\n

With Watson starting opposite All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, quarterbacks completed just 60 percent of their passes. Since Watson was placed on injured reserve \u2014 and Joshua Williams, Nazeeh Johnson and undrafted rookie Chris Roland-Wallace filled in \u2014 the completion percentage rose to 67 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cJaylen is one of those guys in this DB room that has a lot of energy,\u201d McDuffie said Wednesday. \u201cWhen you see him on the practice field, he\u2019s dancing, he\u2019s smiling. It\u2019s great to get guys coming back from injury, whether it\u2019s been two weeks or two months.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s doing really well. He\u2019s able to move around very well. You can tell that he\u2019s still retained the information and it doesn\u2019t really look like he\u2019s coming off an injury. He\u2019s done a great job with his recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days after the Chiefs\u2019 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day, Watson posted a short video on Instagram that showed him sprinting inside the team\u2019s training facility. A few days later, Watson posted another video. This one featured him backpedaling and smoothly changing directions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been in the system for three years, he\u2019s played in all the big games and he\u2019s someone that I know the coaches trust a lot,\u201d McDuffie said. \u201cHe can come back in and have a physical advantage, his length and his size (6-foot-2 and 197 pounds).<\/p>\n

With Watson\u2019s return, Spagnuolo could test the Texans\u2019 passing attack by having his cornerbacks play more man coverage than usual. In the regular season, the Chiefs aligned their outside cornerbacks in press-man coverage on 52 percent of snaps, the highest rate in the league by almost 7 percent, according to Next Gen Stats.<\/p>\n

Nico Collins, the Texans\u2019 best receiver, generated much of his production in last week\u2019s win over the Los Angeles Chargers \u2014 seven receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown \u2014 in the middle of the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re pretty smart,\u201d Spagnuolo said of the Texans. \u201cThey move (receivers) around. No matter who ends up on (Collins), we need to know where he is. He\u2019s a guy we\u2019re very concerned about.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Chiefs\u2019 Dec. 21 victory against the Texans, McDuffie played just 10 snaps as the nickel defender. But on Saturday, McDuffie could match up against the slot receiver while Watson and Williams are on the perimeter when the Chiefs play nickel or dime personnel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love going against players like this, someone who I call a complete receiver,\u201d McDuffie said of Collins. \u201cHe\u2019s big, he\u2019s physical, he\u2019s fast, (has) good hands and his connection with (quarterback) C.J. (Stroud), you can tell, is at an all-time high. He\u2019s their No. 1 receiver. That\u2019s why you want to play this game, to go against the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the Chiefs\u2019 man coverage is sticky and effective, Spagnuolo likely will blitz Stroud often. The Chiefs rushed the quarterback with five or more defenders on 36 percent of opponents\u2019 dropbacks this season, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats.<\/p>\n

Early in the season, when Watson was in the lineup, the Chiefs were missing Omenihu, who was rehabbing after tearing the ACL in his right knee in last year\u2019s AFC Championship Game. While Watson hopes to strengthen the secondary, Omenihu wants to be a difference-maker in the pass rush, a part of the unit that will feature him, Chris Jones, George Karlaftis and Mike Danna on pivotal third-down snaps.<\/p>\n

In the final six games of the regular season, Omenihu recorded a sack, a forced fumble and six tackles in limited time on the field. But Omenihu has a strong reputation once the calendar turns to January. In 11 playoff games, he has recorded 4 1\/2 sacks, nine quarterback hits and three forced fumbles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always enjoyed the postseason,\u201d Omenihu said. \u201cIt brings out the best in myself, so it\u2019s going to be fun. The best football I\u2019ve played in my career has been in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

When chatting with reporters Wednesday, Omenihu\u2019s eyes got wide when he explained his excitement when he first saw Spanguolo\u2019s game plan for Saturday. It\u2019s sure to include new blitzes, pre-snap coverage disguises and pass rush-rushing surprises.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yeah, I was happy about the game plan,\u201d Omenihu said, smiling. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be good, man. We\u2019ve just got to execute, really. We\u2019ve got to stop the run first. I told myself, \u2018All right, brother, now it\u2019s time to ramp it up in all aspects of your game.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday\u2019s divisional-round game is expected to be the first that includes all 18 of the unit\u2019s starting and rotational players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-10737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-kansas-city-chiefs"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Chiefs defense at full strength for the playoffs with the return of Jaylen Watson - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=10737\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Chiefs defense at full strength for the playoffs with the return of Jaylen Watson - 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