Patrick Mahomes can look mortal and other Chiefs lessons learned vs Dolphins

Sammy Watkins remains valuable

Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are essential to the Chiefs, and they’re both having years to remember. Both players are setting personal as well as franchise marks, and they’re undoubtedly going to be rewarded at season’s end with all the honors you’d expect to come their way. However, it’s also important to remember that this offense doesn’t work the way Andy Reid envisions it without Sammy Watkins involved as well.

Watkins came up big for the Chiefs a few times on Sunday, and in a game where the margin for error was so thin, the plays stand out even more. In the first quarter, he punched the ball free after Mahomes threw a pick, giving the Chiefs a chance to recover their own turnover. He would also come up big with this great catch and hurdle early, a play that would go for 37 yards:

The best defenses are able to key in on Hill and even Kelce as well in the right scenarios, especially with double teams, deep help, getting physical off the line, etc. In the playoffs, opposing coordinators will figure ways to avoid giving up the big play and keep such mismatches to a minimum. In those instances, Watkins provides another high-ceiling target to even out the field.

Given how often he’s been injured or just overlooked week to week in this offense, it’s easy to forget that Watkins is capable of so much when given the opps. On Sunday, we were reminded that he’s dangerous with the ball and does the little things we often don’t see that help put the Chiefs over the top.