Kansas City Chiefs vs Washington Redskins: 5 players to watch

Travis Kelce

I know, another shocking surprise on this list, but hear me out on this one. There is a reason that tight end Travis Kelce is a bigger player to watch in this game than your average Chiefs game. The Washington Redskins are not allowing wide receivers to beat them.

During their current two game winning streak, Washington is only letting opponents’ starting wide receivers average a combined 3.5 receptions for 38 yards and no touchdowns. If the Chiefs go in with the mindset that they are going to beat Washington by targeting the Redskins talented corners, led by Josh Norman, they may be sorely disappointed. That’s not to say that Tyreek Hill shouldn’t be involved in the offense, but I think its going to take a steady dose of Kareem Hunt and Travis Kelce in order to open things up for him.

So is it likely that Kelce will be able to find success in this game? In a word, yes. While the Redskins have done a great job of taking away the starting receivers, they have been vulnerable to opposing tight ends so far this season. They have allowed an average of 6 receptions and 83.3 yards per game to opposing tight ends. When you combine that with the fact that Kelce is one of the most talented tight ends in the NFL and is due for a big game after only getting one catch for one yard last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, you get the potential for a big night from KC’s talented tight end.

Simply put, if Kareem Hunt is the number one player to watch when it comes to the Chiefs finding offensive success then Travis Kelce is the clear number two. If Kelce can find some room to operate in the middle of the field and give quarterback Alex Smith a consistent target it should help the Chiefs sustain drives and put some points on the board.

Next up, the biggest question mark on offense.