Two of Kansas City’s defensive leaders are focused on the dangers Washington’s running game presents. Rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt and rotational backs Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez all present the potential for big plays. They’re behind an offensive line that is playing well — and the Commanders will also have wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin back from injury.
“The offensive tackles have obviously been playing great for them,” noted linebacker Nick Bolton. “They do a great job, [and] they get their pass catchers back. It’s going to be an added boost to those guys, and the running backs are doing great this year. One’s averaging 5.3 [yards], I think, per carry and another one is averaging 4.2 or something like that. It’s going to be a challenge for us up front. [We] need to stop the run early and get them in favorable downs for us and take out the quarterback.”
On Friday, defensive tackle Chris Jones added veteran tight end Zach Ertz to the list of Washington players the Chiefs’ defense should be concerned about.
“They have a really, really, really well-rounded team,” he explained. “They have a lot of weapons — Deebo Samuel, Terry McLaurin, and the running backs; they’ve got a double-headed sword in the backfield. The offensive coordinator, Kliff, he does a really, really good job of scheming. So, we’ve got our hands full there, and then they have a veteran tight end who’s been in the game a while and is still very, very productive. So, we’ve definitely got our hands full on trying to slow these guys down.”
