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Chiefs vs. Colts: Sammy Watkins proves he’s fully healthy for Kansas City

By Matt Conner

KANSAS CITY, MO - JANUARY 12: Sammy Watkins #14 of the Kansas City Chiefs stiff arms George Odum #30 of the Indianapolis Colts during the first half of the AFC Divisional Round playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 12, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Euilitt/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - JANUARY 12: Sammy Watkins #14 of the Kansas City Chiefs stiff arms George Odum #30 of the Indianapolis Colts during the first half of the AFC Divisional Round playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 12, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Euilitt/Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Chiefs enjoyed a fully healthy presence of wide receiver Sammy Watkins after missing him on the field for the last half season.

Sammy Watkins adds the wrinkle that elevates the Kansas City Chiefs.

It was almost easy to forget how much having Watkins in the line-up for the Chiefs adds to the team’s offensive capabilities. Whether or not Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes actually targets him, Watkins forces defenses to respect his ability to enough to focus on him—providing Mahomes with an even more spread-out defense to attack at will.

Fortunately, the Chiefs enjoyed the presence of a fully healthy Watkins in the team’s starting lineup after missing him for the majority of the second half of the regular season. On Saturday against the visiting Indianapolis Colts, the Chiefs played Watkins more than any other wide receiver on the team, including top threat Tyreek Hill.

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Per the team’s official snap counts, Watkins played 81 total snaps on Saturday in the Divisional Round of the playoffs—93 percent of his team’s total offensive snaps. Only Travis Kelce played more among the skill position players (Kelce had 2 more snaps). By comparison, Tyreek Hill played in 80 percent of the team’s snaps (likely due to his special teams duties as well) and Chris Conley entered the game for 64 percent.

Interestingly enough, Gehrig Dieter played 8 snaps on offense compared to only 4 for Demarcus Robinson, an interesting twist lower in the depth chart.

On Saturday, Watkins went for 6 catches and 62 receiving yards, showing an instant connection with Mahomes despite catching only a single pass since Week 9 of the regular season (a 10-week absence that began with a foot injury suffered late in a win against the Cleveland Browns).

Through the first half of the season, Watkins had 34 catches for 453 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, a pace that would have given the Chiefs yet another pass catcher approaching 1,000 total yards on the year. Hill and Kelce broke receiving records in his absence, but with Mahomes under center, there are plenty of yards to go around on offense.

Given Watkins’ ability to play the full game on Saturday without being on any sort of pitch count, it looks like the Chiefs will bring their full offensive assault to bear on another opponent at home. Whether it’s the Chargers or Patriots up next remains to be seen.

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