Devin White asked Clyde Edwards-Helaire why Chiefs didn’t run more against Buccaneers

Devin White feels no need to mince words. In fact, he had plenty to say about a number of topics in a recent interview/appearance on FOX Sports talk show Undisputed.

Hosted by Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless, you can already imagine that there’s a lot of hot air floating in the room, but on this day, White had plenty to say about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. Throughout the interview, David, one of the team’s star defenders and a former first-round pick as a linebacker, spoke about his team’s dominant win with sound byte quotes like “They played right into our hands.”

You can watch the entire interview here. However, one key part of the interview that has received little notice has to do with the Chiefs running game. Specifically, White himself said he was very surprised at the lack of attention given to the running game, considering the way the defense was giving them a light box and sitting heavily on the team’s pass catchers deep. Here’s what he said about the run game:

"“I ended up talking to my buddy Clyde Edwards-Helaire after the game … and I said, ‘Bro, I don’t understand. We were so light in the box.’ I think us being the number one run defense and stoning everybody, I think that kind of took him away before the game even started. The Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, he was the only one to rush for 100 on us this year, and they stayed with the run, so that just lets you know how good Dalvin Cook is and his offensive line.“But, hey, we knew that RPO was gonna be their run game. We knew that coming in. So that can kinda help us. And then Todd Bowles told me and Lavonte [David], ‘You all are gonna play two gaps and y’all gonna show everybody why you’re the best in the world if they do run the ball.”"

It’s important to note a few things here. Just as a reminder, the Chiefs were successful running the football when they did—or at least it looked good on the stat sheet with 107 yards on only 17 carries on the night. Specifically, Edwards-Helaire, the team’s first round pick from last spring, averaged 7.1 yards carry on 9 rushes yet his touches were minimal in the game plan.

It’s also important to remember that White and Edwards-Helaire were teammates at Louisiana State University, so there’s a very real friendship and history there that makes sense. This isn’t just White visiting with an opposing team’s random running back and commenting on the Chiefs’ offensive decision making.

That said, White’s ability to paint a picture after the fact is obvious here—as they say “history is written by the victors.” The Buccaneers won by 30, so it’s easy for White to say “we knew this would happen” or to second-guess what the Chiefs did. And to be fair, Chiefs players would likely do the same if the roles were reversed. This is what happens in the media with every team who wins.

Was there more the Chiefs could have done in the running game? It’s safe to assume that everyone involved would love to rethink most decisions involved in Super Bowl LV. Now White is just having fun basking in the glow of all that went right—and wrong—in his first Super Bowl victory.