Five unexpected heroes who stepped up for Chiefs vs Bengals
By Matt Conner
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
It’s been a very interesting season for Marquez Valdes-Scantling, his first with the Kansas City Chiefs after coming over from the Green Bay Packers in free agency. In some ways, he was expected to take over as a deep threat in the absence of Tyreek Hill, and while he never fit into that profile, MVS has been a nice weapon for the Chiefs nonetheless.
On Sunday, however, MVS turned in his best effort to date in a Chiefs uniform. Previously, he’d only reached 100 yards receiving in a single game one time—back in Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers when he had 111 yards on only 3 catches—but he finished the AFC title game with 6 catches for 116 yards and 1 touchdown.
Even more importantly, Valdes-Scantling stepped up when there was literally no one else who could do so. Mecole Hardman was injured coming into the game and left with an injury. Kadarius Toney made such a great juke that he hurt his own ankle and was out for the game after the first quarter. JuJu Smith-Schuster also left with an injury, and that was all after Justin Watson was inactive due to an illness.
In short, the Chiefs ended the game with only Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, and Marcus Kemp as healthy and eligible receivers. MVS certainly did his part and came through with a big performance worth noting.