{"id":33928,"date":"2025-09-27T15:47:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33928"},"modified":"2025-09-27T15:47:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:47:07","slug":"the-chiefs-defense-is-steeling-itself-for-the-ravens-lamar-jackson-and-derrick-henry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33928","title":{"rendered":"The Chiefs\u2019 defense is steeling itself for the Ravens\u2019 Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Kansas City\u2019s coaches and players discuss the challenge of stopping the Ravens\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n

The Kansas City Chiefs are accustomed to high-stakes meetings with the Baltimore Ravens.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

While Kansas City has won the last two matchups \u2014 both decided by just a touchdown \u2014 the two AFC heavyweights are set to collide again on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium this Sunday. And with both teams entering the Week 4 matchup staring at the possibility of a 1-3 start, the urgency of the game is clear.<\/p>\n

Kansas City\u2019s defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo sees Baltimore\u2019s offense as one of the NFL\u2019s toughest challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can dictate the game by being two-dimensional the whole game,\u201d Spagnuolo told reporters on Thursday. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter the down and distance. They\u2019ll run it when you\u2019re supposed to throw it \u2014 and throw it when you\u2019re supposed to run it. They got the guys that can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That unpredictability begins with quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has opened the season in elite fashion. Through three games, Jackson has thrown for 722 yards (and a league-best nine touchdown passes) while completing 72% of his attempts. That\u2019s third-best among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts. He\u2019s also added 118 rushing yards and a score on the ground, reminding defenses he\u2019s still the league\u2019s most dangerous dual threat.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Kansas City defensive backs coach Dave Merritt emphasizes maintaining discipline in the secondary when facing the Ravens\u2019 quarterback.<\/p>\n

\"Chiefs<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re dealing with a guy like Lamar, we use the word \u2018plaster,\u2019\u201d Merritt explained on Thursday. \u201cSo when he starts scrambling, if you have a guy in your area, you need to start connecting to your man and stay with him. Let the pass rushers rush Lamar and let the underneath zone defenders close in on him. But if you\u2019re the secondary guy \u2014 [the] umbrella guy \u2014 you need to grab a guy and plaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veteran defensive tackle Chris Jones also had high praise for the Baltimore quarterback. Jones credited Jackson for becoming one of the league\u2019s most complete passers.<\/p>\n

\u201cStopping Lamar is one thing,\u201d he said. \u201cTrying to contain him is another. Over the years, you look [at] how prolific as a passer he\u2019s become. I think he\u2019s completing 70% of his passes, which I think he should have won MVP last year. I have so much respect for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Week 3, the Detroit Lions may have revealed a formula for beating Jackson, sacking him a career-high seven times in a 38-30 win. Spagnuolo thinks the takeaway from that matchup was clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat stood out to me \u2014 just watching the game on TV \u2014 was how relentless Detroit was,\u201d Spagnuolo observed. \u201cThe effort that their pass rushers put in, I thought, was really good. They found ways to eventually get him on the ground, which is not easy to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Jackson isn\u2019t the only star for whom the Chiefs\u2019 defense will have to account. The Ravens\u2019 backfield also features Derrick Henry, the All-Pro running back who recorded 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. But while Henry remains one of the most feared runners in football, he\u2019s already fumbled the ball three times this year, losing two of them.<\/p>\n

Spagnuolo sees those early-season ball security issues as a potential opening.<\/p>\n

\"Why<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll try to attack the football and get him to put it on the ground,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026To slow this crew down, somehow, someway, we\u2019re going to have to find a turnover or two in there and give the offense some field position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones, though, cautioned against expecting mistakes from a player of Henry\u2019s caliber.<\/p>\n

\u201cDerrick Henry is one of the best running backs in the league, fumbles or not,\u201d declared Jones. \u201cI think that\u2019s new territory for him. You look over the years, he\u2019s not a big fumbler. So I\u2019m sure he\u2019s working on it this week \u2014 and the next few weeks \u2014 to make sure he has the ball high and tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slowing down Jackson and Henry will be the key to Sunday\u2019s matchup. Jones knows it will take a team effort to bring them down by any means necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cDerrick Henry is the same as Lamar,\u201d said Jones. \u201cHe can change the dynamic of the game at any point in the game. We\u2019ve got to make sure that not only one person is bringing him down. [We\u2019re] making sure we crowd around him, grabbing him and clawing him \u2014 whatever we got to do to get him down.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kansas City\u2019s coaches and players discuss the challenge of stopping the Ravens\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kansas-city-chiefs"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Chiefs\u2019 defense is steeling itself for the Ravens\u2019 Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry\u00a0 - 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=33928\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Chiefs\u2019 defense is steeling itself for the Ravens\u2019 Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry\u00a0 - 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