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Chiefs Will Give Broncos A New Look In Their Season Opener
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- Chiefs Will Give Broncos A New Look In Their Season Opener
The Kansas City Chiefs will face a familiar opponent in Week 1, but there will be some new wrinkles involved. Coach Sean Payton was asked yesterday if he'd prefer to face quarterback Patrick Mahomes sooner or later given that he's coming off a serious knee injury, and he didn't express a strong preference, according to Sam Jane of the Denver Post.
"Earlier or later, I don't know…. I don't know," Payton said. "I think you have to be ready and prepare for what you know is his best, and that's in the pocket, that's the extended plays, that's him running. You don't give a lot of thought to it because you can't control it."
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That's probably not completely true, however. The Chiefs will be featuring Mahomes under center more this season , and Payton and the coaching staff have certainly reviewed Kansas City's preseason tape to get a line on some of the younger players they'll be facing.
The battle between Mahomes and quarterback Bo Nix has been dubbed the "Rehab Bowl," although Nix has been running around like his usual self in his brief preseason cameo. The Chiefs haven't played Mahomes yet, however, which has raised questions about his long layoff.
But the challenges will still be there, especially since Mahomes is 6-2 in preseason openers, per Jane, and defensive tackle Zach Allen talked about the respect the Broncos have for the legendary quarterback.
"(Stopping Mahomes) is as big of a challenge as there is in the league," Allen said after practice yesterday. "Doing it in primetime is really cool. And the history between the two organizations just amps it up even more."
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The Chiefs will have to find a way to counter the success the Denver defense has had success against Mahomes under defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, per Jane. Over four games, he has thrown three touchdowns to four interceptions, completing 67% of his passes for an average of 272 yards per game and an 81.2 passer rating. The Chiefs averaged fewer than 16 points per game in those four games.
But the Chiefs have revamped their offense to feature new running back Kenneth Walker III, and the Broncos' ability to stop Walker will be one of the main storylines of this game. It's just one new wrinkle, though, with the other being the regular season debut of new offensive coordinator Davis Webb calling plays.
Webb downplayed the significance of this before training camp, however, as he noted how unpredictable Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo can be with his innovative blitzes and substitution packages, making it clear that the mutual respect factor runs both way.
"We play Kansas City first and 'Spags' could do whatever he wants to do," Webb said.
