Jaylen Watson #35 of the Kansas City Chiefs (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Much to the dismay of the talking heads in the media and opposing fans across the league, the Kansas City Chiefs followed up their strong Week 1 victory with a hard-fought win against their division rival, the L.A. Chargers. Many consider the Chargers to have among the best and most complete rosters in the league which might lead some to view the Chiefs’ win in Week 2 as even more impressive than their showcasing against the Arizona Cardinals.
Emerging victorious against a formidable adversary was essential for gaining much-needed momentum in the nascent 2022 season. Following the matchup Chiefs fans rightfully have a lot to be excited about, and admittedly, a couple of areas of concern that need some development over the course of the season. Let’s take a look at three positive and two potentially-troubling takeaways from the Chiefs’ second win of the season.
KC Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has been lauded for his ability to find diamonds in the rough every year by sniping under-the-radar talent in later rounds of the NFL draft. Sure, it’s only a couple of weeks into the season but by the looks of it, he did it again with rookie cornerback Jaylen Watson. He earned the week 2 start due to an injury sustained by fellow rookie Trent McDuffie in the season opener. Knowing this, the Chargers targeted him early and despite his lack of experience, Watson held his own by displaying tight coverage and never appeared to be lost in space.
However, it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Watson left a definitive mark on the game. With the game all tied up the Chargers were faced with first and goal after an impressive drive down the field. Charger quarterback attempted to find tight end Gerald Everett for the score. The inaccurate pass was snagged by Watson who returned it 99 yards for the pick-six and the Chiefs’ first lead of the game. In addition to giving the Chiefs a much-needed momentum swing, Watson’s amazing heads-up play earned him a spot in the history books: his 99-yard return is the longest 4th quarter go-ahead touchdown in the NFL by a rookie. Veach, you son of a gun… you did it again.
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