The Kansas City Chiefs, Super Bowl champions of the 2019 season, open 2020 against the Houston Texans. Which fresh faces will have the biggest impact?
The Kansas City Chiefs, reigning Super Bowl champions of the NFL, will take the field for the first professional football game in over seven months on September 10th against the Houston Texans.
Doubtless, diehard Chiefs fans fondly remember the last meeting the team had against the Texans. Abject misery was nearly instantly followed by chest-thumping euphoria, as the Chiefs offense responded to a 24-point deficit with seven straight touchdowns and the Chiefs defense held the Texans to seven points the rest of the way.
So begins the Chiefs defense of their first Super Bowl championship in 50 seasons. Will they open the season with a bang or will the Texans succeed in avenging their playoff embarrassment? More importantly, who are some fresh faces who may have major impacts on the outcome?
Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s long awaited debut
In 2019’s divisional round where the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Houston Texans, Damien Williams had himself a game. He touched the ball 14 times, an additional four targets falling incomplete, amassing 68 total yards and three total touchdowns. As we all know, Damien Williams will be watching this season from home as he spends time with his ailing mother.
In his stead is the freshly minted Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The national champion from LSU averaged an impressive 125 yards and over a touchdown per game in his final season in college’s toughest and most physical conference. Thursday, September 10th he has the opportunity to start his professional career with a bang facing one of 2019’s worst defenses in the Houston Texans.
It’s tough to know exactly how much the team plans to utilize Edwards-Helaire, especially early, as there hasn’t been any preseason games in 2020. That said, while the Texans boast one of the stoutest linebacking corps in the NFL anchored by Benardrick McKinney and Zach Cunningham, both have struggled with consistency in coverage. Look for the Chiefs to create some mismatches in the passing game and Edwards-Helaire to waste no time hitting the ground running.
Will L’Jairus Sneed be the stop-gap during Bashaud Breeland’s suspension?
Bashaud Breeland was suspended last week for the first four games of the NFL season for an interaction he had with a police officer during the offseason. Breeland had a slow start to the 2019 season, but it was clear by the end he was a valued part of the Chiefs defense. He even capped off the season with an interception and all around solid game in the Super Bowl.
Even though the secondary and pass defense was one of the strengths of the Chiefs defense in 2019, it’s no secret the team is relatively shallow at the cornerback position. Breeland’s suspension leaves Charvarius Ward as the only corner with legitimate starting experience left on the roster.
In the Chiefs most recent televised scrimmage, fourth-round draft pick L’Jairus Sneed received a significant number of reps at starting right cornerback across from Ward. Ironically, Sneed hasn’t logged a significant number of snaps at the position since his junior season at Louisiana Tech.
It’s expected, regardless of whether Sneed actually starts, that he’ll log a number of important snaps at the position against the Texans. The Chiefs current circumstances at cornerback require a baptism by fire for Sneed, and his play can have a large positive or negative impact on how the Chiefs defense begins the season.