The Kansas City Chiefs are on the road again, this time traveling to Tampa to face the Buccaneers on “Sunday Night Football.”
The Chiefs are looking to get back to their winning ways and so are the Buccaneers as both teams are coming off of losses in Week 3. This will also mark the first time these two teams have played each other since Super Bowl LV. What will it take for K.C. to get back on track and exact some revenge over their last Super Bowl opponent?
Here are five of the things we’ll be looking for during the course of the game:
Battle in the trenches for both sides of the ball
This game is going to boil down to a battle in the trenches. If you’ll recall the painful memory of Super Bowl LV, Patrick Mahomes was pressured all day by a talented Buccaneers defensive front against a Chiefs offensive line mostly comprised of backups. Kansas City has since made some changes on the offensive line and Tampa has seen some changes on the defensive line.
Bucs LB Shaq Barrett seems to think they’ll still be able to pressure Mahomes with ease. Mahomes has been sacked twice this season which is tied for the second-fewest in the NFL. That said, he’s been pressured 37 times on the year, which is tied for the fifth-highest mark in the league.
On the flip side, the Buccaneers are playing some backup offensive linemen on their interior in this matchup. The Chiefs have the NFL’s lead in pressures with 49 total pressures and over a 35% pressure rate on their pass-rushing snaps. Tampa has allowed Tom Brady to be pressured just 16 times on the year, including six sacks. Could this be a game where Brady is getting chased around by the Chiefs’ defense?
Will the Buccaneers be able to scheme away Travis Kelce?
Will Tampa have an answer for Travis Kelce now that Tyreek Hill is no longer on the field? In his last two games against the Buccaneers, Kelce is 18-of-23 receiving for 215 yards and no touchdowns. They’ve largely been unable to slow him down, save for keeping him out of the end zone.
Bucs CB Jamel Dean told reporters this week that the Chiefs are much easier to prepare for without Hill, but they still have to come out and prove they can slow down Kelce. He’s a matchup nightmare, too big for defensive backs and too shifty for linebackers in coverage. In the past, they’ve put Lavonte David and Devin White on Kelce to varying degrees of success. Will they look to do that again in Week 4?
Tom Brady vs. young players in Chiefs' secondary
The Chiefs have a bunch of new faces in the secondary this year, including two rookies in Jaylen Watson and Bryan Cook. They’d have Trent McDuffie out there if it wasn’t for a hamstring injury that sent him to injured reserve. These young defensive backs are going against an all-world quarterback in Tom Brady and he’s sure to test them during this game.
Watson is allowing just 47.4% of passes thrown his way to be caught. He has multiple passes defended and the 99-yard interception return for a touchdown. Cook hasn’t been on the field on defense much, but he allowed two receptions on two targets for 12 yards in Week 1. Will the rookies continue to impress for Kansas City or will Brady take advantage of some of those new pieces playing a big role for the Chiefs?
Can the Chiefs improve their red zone defense?
If there has been one area where the Chiefs haven’t been great defensively this season, it has been the red zone. Steve Spagnuolo’s defense has allowed eight touchdowns in the red zone in 11 opponent red zone trips this season. That’s good for 27th place in the NFL in terms of red zone defense.
This should be a good week for Kansas City to improve their red zone struggles on the defensive side of the ball. The Buccaneers’ offense has seen just five trips to the red zone so far this season. In those five trips, they’ve only managed two touchdowns. That number is good for the 28th-ranked red zone offense through three games. They’ll get some key pieces back tonight on offense, but will that be enough to improve their red zone numbers or will the Chiefs be able to take advantage?
Who do the Chiefs trust more: Matthew Wright or the offense?
Despite some optimism from Dave Toub earlier in the week, the Chiefs will officially be without Harrison Butker for the third consecutive game this season. They sent Matt Ammendola packing after a poor performance during Week 3. They signed Matthew Wright to the practice squad and he’ll be the team’s kicker for Week 4.
Will the Chiefs trust Wright this week or will they trust their offense to go out and pick up some fourth downs and two-point conversions? Wright has a long field goal of 56 yards. He’s 3-of-4 from 40-49 yards and 4-of-6 from 50-plus yards during the course of his NFL career. After just a few days of practicing with the team, will Wright get the nod in key situations?
