Multiple Lessons from Divisional Round Can Help Chiefs in AFC Championship Game

The Chiefs can learn plenty from their divisional round win over the Texans and apply it to both sides of the ball in the AFC title game against the Bills.
Dec 21, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams (2) celebrates with cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) after a sack against the Houston Texans during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams (2) celebrates with cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) after a sack against the Houston Texans during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans to advance to their seventh straight AFC championship game. Looking back on Saturday, there are two specific things – one on each side of the ball – that the Chiefs can improve upon heading into their Sunday matchup with the Buffalo Bills.

Xavier Worthy had a nice stat line of five catches for 45 receiving yards. The problem was that line represented the entire wide receiver room. While Houston does have first team All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr. and standout rookie Kamari Lassiter on the outside at corner, it's eye-opening to see only one Chiefs wideout have a catch. That will likely need to change this weekend against Buffalo.

Marquise "Hollywood" Brown didn't play against the Bills in this season's first matchup. His usage and production could be a key to the game for Kansas City's offense. We saw the Chiefs try to get Brown loose on a deep shot against the Texans, but he couldn't come down with the ball. Both the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens have successfully attacked Buffalo's secondary downfield during the first two rounds of the playoffs. This weekend, Brown could really take advantage of not being the primary focus of defense and record the first postseason catches of his Chiefs career.

The other receiver that needs to step up is DeAndre Hopkins. His usage throughout the season has been odd. Many speculated that he was being used sparingly to protect the NFL Draft pick that would be sent to Tennessee as part of the trade to acquire him. On Saturday, however, Hopkins only played 31% of the snaps even though that count no longer matters for the trade compensation. Kansas City stalled out in the red zone, and its third-down efficiency against Houston was well below the season average. Hopkins has helped the success formula in those situations throughout the year, so the Chiefs need to find a way to get back to that on Sunday.

Flipping over to the defensive side of the ball, it was a welcome sight to see cornerback Jaylen Watson back on the field. Obviously, it is important to remember he is coming off a serious injury. With that said, he should be playing every snap possible moving forward.

Depending on what advanced statistics you look at, the Chiefs' defensive season can be split into three parts: Weeks 1-7 (with Watson), Weeks 8-12 (post-Watson injury) and Weeks 13-17 (Joshua Williams snaps). In the first portion, the Chiefs were easily a top 10 defensive unit and pushed into the top five in some categories. They had similar ranks during the latter portion of the year – not as strong, but still better than how they performed right after Watson went down.

Kansas City's immediate replacement for Watson was Nazeeh Johnson. Opposing teams quickly realized that any time they needed a play, they would look for Johnson and throw in his direction. They did this to great success, including the Bills repeatedly attacking him for 60 minutes in Week 11. In that game, Johnson was responsible for nine receptions, 103 yards and a touchdown.

After Johnson proved to not be the patchwork answer, the Chiefs started playing Williams and returned closer to their early-season form. Kansas City needs to realize that Watson should be playing at his maximum availability, with Williams being the third corner in sub-packages.

Buffalo's best receiver (Khalil Shakir) primarily plays in the slot, so the Chiefs should try to get Trent McDuffie playing there as much as possible. That's why it's critical that his fellow 2022 draft members, Watson and Williams, play on the outside.

The defense was imposing in Watson's first game back from injury while he was knocking the rust off. If he can play 100% of the snaps moving forward, we could see that group bounce back even more.

Read More: Andy Reid Wins AFC Coach of the Year at Annual 101 Awards


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Zack Eisen
ZACK EISEN

Zack Eisen is a Business Administration student at California State University Northridge and is an analyst for Kansas City Chiefs On SI.