Week one got off to a great start and the Chiefs got major production from Sammy Watkins and the rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Some people might think it was just a flash in the pan, but some think it can be repeated in week two. We take a look here at if Watkins and Edwards-Helaire will be able to repeat their success from week one against the Chargers.
The Chiefs are definitely going to have their hands full more this week as opposed to last week on the offensive side of things. The Chargers are loaded with talent on the defensive side and can be a handful when they’re playing well.
Even Mahomes has his struggles with this defense. Mahomes didn’t throw for more than 200 yards against Los Angeles last year and didn’t have more than one passing TD in either game as well. What does this mean for Sammy Watkins and Edwards-Helaire? I think one will struggle this week and one will continue their success.
Sammy Watkins hit the ground running last year and seems to be on the horizon to continue that this year as well. However, I do believe this week he is going to struggle. Last week the Chargers faced off against the Bengals who do have talent on the offensive side of the ball and struggled to move the ball.
AJ Green was the leading receiver for Cincinnati with only 51 yards. Obviously we all know the Chiefs are more dynamic on offense, but the Chargers present a lot of challenges. They have arguably the best trio of CBs in the NFL. With guys like Casey Hayward Jr., Chris Harris Jr., and Desmond King, you know it will be a long day for you as a receiver. Those three players are some of the top players at the position and have made life difficult for the Chiefs over the years.
I do expect Sammy Watkins to struggle this week because of the secondary the Chargers posses. It might be tough for the Chiefs to move the ball at times and force a lot of throwing situations for KC, but I don’t know how much Watkins will be involved during this game.
To make things more tough for Watkins, in the two seasons prior, Watkins has only registered 55 receiving yards against the Charges in those seasons combined! That is alarming. LA seems to have Watkins on lockdown when they play Kansas City. Look for Watkins to struggle to get involved this week.
Now for Clyde Edwards-Helaire. What a debut for the rookie last week. I don’t know how you can expect much more from the first year RB, but it seems like that was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this kid! 138 yards rushing with 106 of those coming after contact just seems like it isn’t doable again, right? Well, as far as this week goes, I think we can expect this to continue. This is the first time since the Kareem Hunt era that the Chiefs have a feature RB in an already high octane offense.
The Chiefs hammered the Texans when they lined up with six players or less in the box. This means it is a matter of pick your poison if you’re the defense and I think we can all assume that nobody in the NFL is going to want Patrick Mahomes to beat them, so instead, they’re going to try and make the Chiefs run the ball. This is why Edwards-Helaire is going to continue his success going into week two.
I believe the Chargers are going to try to dare the Chiefs to throw the ball, but the Chiefs won’t fall for it. Now that they have a certified monster in the backfield once again, they’re going to hand the ball off till you prove you can stop it.
We saw from the game against the Texans that those wimpy, one-arm tackles aren’t going to get the rookie down. You have to gang tackle him and hit him with some sort of power or he will just keep going. I look for Edwards-Helaire to have at least 80 yards rushing and another TD in this game as well.
Big expectations again for the Chiefs going into this game against the Chargers. Let’s hope they continue their success and move to 2-0 on the season. I look for Watkins to struggle this week, but best believe that Clyde Edwards-Helaire is going to show out once again, this time against a division rival!
