Are you ready for it?
Because the Kansas City Chiefs are coming to town this Sunday, and they’re bringing Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Swiftie-mania with them.
Considering the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive struggles for most of the season, having the Chiefs on the docket would normally strike terror into the hearts of Vikings fans. But unlike most years, this Chiefs offense is still trying to find their rhythm, which presents an interesting opportunity.
Players like Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, and Rashee Rice have all been inconsistent-to-disappointing for Kansas City this season, and the best quarterback in football has looked surprisingly mortal as a result. If you think I’m exaggerating, consider the following:
We’re living in a reality where Zach Wilson outplayed Mahomes in primetime. There’s never been an incarnation of the Mahomes-led Chiefs where this would’ve been possible, but here we are. That’s how out of sorts Kansas City’s offense has been compared to years past.
But the inadequacy of these receivers only makes it all the more imperative that the Vikings defense finds a way to stymie Mahomes’ No. 1 weapon. The best tight end in football. The future Hall of Famer. And one of the most famous people that will be present on Sunday, second only to his date for the postgame.
Brian Flores better come prepared for Travis Kelce. No matter how much fatigue you have with him and the media circus surrounding his love life, there’s no getting around that he’s the most important matchup on the field for the Vikings defense on Sunday.
Under Flores, Minnesota’s defense has yet to face a truly special tight end this season. Still, we have seen plenty of issues in coverage. This Vikings team has lived and died by the blitz. But the unfortunate reality of sending extra defenders is that there is open space over the middle of the field, which is where Mahomes and Kelce do their damage.
Mahomes has also been elite in his career against the blitz, leading all QBs last season with a whopping 8.6 yards per attempt. Mahomes’ ability to identify and counter the blitz is a testament to his playmaking ability and football IQ. He’s so good at moving, identifying, and then killing you downfield when you give him the opportunity. According to PFF, Mahomes boasted a massive 111.7 passer rating against the blitz last season. In general, it’s just not a good idea to send too many extra defenders out of coverage against the best quarterback in the league.
You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.
But before we all harp on Brian Flores that he needs to calm down, he may agree with you. Now that Minnesota’s defense finally has its full complement of pass rushers up front, he may be less desperate with his pressure packages. It’s a weird concept, but Marcus Davenport may be the most important guy on the defense when it comes to covering Kelce.
The impact that Davenport’s emergence could have on this defense can’t be understated. It was only one week, but Davenport completely unlocked Minnesota’s pass rush against the Carolina Panthers. The four-man rush finally showed signs of life, and it allowed a variety of coverage on the back end that invigorated this defense greatly.
Against the Panthers, the Vikings only blitzed 30.8% of the time according to ESPN Stats and Info. The Vikings had been blitzing more than 60% of the time on the season. That’s a gamechanger for Flores. Bringing pressure is in his DNA, but it doesn’t always need to be what I coined last week as the reckless “Ricky Bobby” defense.
Instead, it can be a much more balanced defense that can mix and match its looks to keep the opposition guessing, especially against a quarterback/tight end duo that excels so much against pressure. Because while the rest of these Chiefs receivers may not warrant double teams, Kelce certainly does.
It’s likely going to fall on a combination of Ivan Pace Jr., Camryn Bynum, and Harrison Smith to mitigate Kelce’s impact for most of the day. Fortunately, all three defenders are coming off their best game yet this season. Bynum has been reliable and effective. Smith is probably the defender most capable of matching Kelce’s athleticism and physicality. And while the rookie Pace is not the ideal matchup against Kelce, he’s shown the athleticism to rally and tackle in space and could be a part of any potential double team.
Mahomes is too good to spend all day blitzing. Kelce is too good to cover with one player. But if you can disrupt things and force the rest of this Chiefs offense to find a way to beat you, then you may have a chance to keep pace on Sunday. Make the game about the likes of Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney making a play, and I like their chances much more.
