Early-morning text sealed KC Chiefs’ decision-making process at slot corner vs. Raiders
With cornerback L’Jarius Sneed out Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs had decisions to make at the right cornerback and slot cornerback spots.
Mike Hughes was an easy choice to man the outside position, but the Chiefs still needed to address the slot in quick fashion.
They found it Saturday before the crack of dawn.
“I got a text at 5 that morning,” Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu said after Sunday’s game.
“It happened quick,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said Monday. “We’re fortunate in that we have a guy like Tyrann.”
Mathieu’s versatility allowed the Chiefs to adjust on the fly without Sneed, who typically moves from right cornerback to the slot in the team’s nickel sub-packages.
And the Chiefs knew they had a guy who could step up and play a bigger role.
“Listen, we ask him to do a lot of things,” Spagnuolo said of Mathieu. “We ask him to go play nickel, where he didn’t hardly get any reps during the week, and it was exciting that we got Rashad Fenton back. That helped and we didn’t know whether we were going to get him or not until really Sunday morning.”
Fenton can usually play slot corner, but he came with some unknowns in his first game back from a knee injury. He missed the Broncos game before putting in limited practices in the days leading up to Sunday’s game against the Raiders. The Chiefs had designated him as questionable on Friday’s injury report.
Mathieu logged 47 defensive snaps in Sunday’s 48-9 win over the Raiders, with a majority played elsewhere than his typical safety position. He moved around the defensive alignments and played 37 snaps, including 18 at slot corner, according to Pro Football Focus.
The three-time All-Pro safety remained productive, too, totaling five tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and a pass defensed before heading to the bench late in the second half with the game well in hand.
Fenton, meanwhile, saw action on 35 snaps and recorded four tackles in his first game back. Whether he can step in at the nickel spot for Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers will depend on whether Sneed returns in time for the game ... and Fenton’s health.
“We’ve got to check out and see where Rashad is right now,” Spagnuolo said. “It’s all more a challenge with a short week.”
Whatever happens, the Chiefs won’t need to make a hasty decision again. They have viable in-house solutions in Hughes and, especially, Mathieu.
“For the most part, I have a good feel for all five positions back there,” Mathieu said. “I am one of those guys who can go play anything and kind of get us through the game.
“It always feels good to go back to the position that you first started at. It kind of makes you feel young again.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Early-morning text sealed KC Chiefs’ decision-making process at slot corner vs. Raiders."
