Unsung hero; Juju Smith-Schuster had a big AFC Championship in more ways than one
The veteran WR contributed in a big way to the Chiefs advancing to the Super Bowl.
When the Chiefs brought back Juju Smith-Schuster following his release from the Patriots, the collective reaction was basically a shrug.
After all, the veteran wideout had been less than stellar during his time in New England, and the general consensus was that he didn’t have much left in the tank after injuries sapped him of his explosiveness, despite his relative youth (he’s only 28 years old). However, Juju being brought back on a cheaper price made sense, as I wrote at the time. The primary reasons for this are that he knows the system and has the ability to execute the concepts Andy Reid wants from his receivers. He may be past the point that he can separate on his own, but that doesn’t mean he holds no value as a 3rd or 4th WR.
And in the AFC Championship, a game that required every yard the Chiefs could muster, Juju showed off his value in a big way that deserves to be recognized. And it happened in ways that show up in the stats sheet and that (takes a deep breath) go well beyond the box score.
Let’s talk about the most obvious contributions first, and then discuss what Juju did that you might have missed in terms of helping the guys around him succeed. First, it has to be noted that while Juju only caught two passes, both were “explosive” plays that went 20+ yards. The first of which came on the very first drive, an RPO (run/pass option) in which Juju took advantage of the defense moving up towards the run and got beyond the underneath zone defenders. He then broke a tackle and turned a short gain into a big one.
This is the sort of play the Chiefs need from a complementary receiver like Juju. Because he’s not Hollywood Brown or Xavier Worthy or DeAndre Hopkins, he doesn’t get quite as much attention from the defense (he’s a good run blocker, so the defense leans towards “run” when he’s out there). But he understands spacing and timing of plays well, and he knows when to throttle up and when to gear back on a route. He also still has a little more YAC juice than expected despite his lack of breakaway speed. That’s demonstrated here with a nifty juke in space that turns a nice gain into an explosive one.
Juju added another explosive play in the 4th quarter on a “gotta have it” drive for the Chiefs as they trailed by a point. The Bills tried to send extra pressure and play man across the board, and Juju was able to make his best play of the 2024 season by making them pay for leaving him 1x1 on the backside of the formation.
This is another play you hope to get out of your complementary receivers. Left alone on an island (the safety help is shading the other direction given the Chiefs are lined up 3x1, with 3 receiving options on the other side of the field), Juju is able to create enough separation across the middle of the field to gather in the throw. And then he again shows some YAC ability, shaking a tackle and grabbing a bunch of extra yardage. A huge play that aided the Chiefs in scoring when they needed it the most.
Those two plays alone would’ve made Juju a big contributor Sunday. But what he did beyond the box score was also a huge part of the Chiefs’ success.