Unsung hero; Marquez Valdes-Scantling was the WR the Chiefs needed
On a day Kansas City needed a WR1, MVS stepped up and delivered the game of his life while showing his value in the Chiefs' offense.
The situation was dire and the need was severe.
The Chiefs found themselves desperately thin at wide receiver in the AFC Championship. Juju Smith-Schuster, Kadarius Toney, and Mecole Hardman were all forced out of the game with injuries. Justin Watson (who played over 40% of the offensive snaps this year) was inactive. That left the Chiefs with rookie Skyy Moore, special teamer Marcus Kemp, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as the only healthy receivers on the field.
Oh, and Patrick Mahomes was playing on a bad ankle against a terrific defense that was already gunning for superstar tight end Travis Kelce.
The situation was desperate, and Kansas City needed their lone remaining starter in MVS to be someone he’d never been before in his career; WR1. And… well, you know what happened.
MVS has been treated like an afterthought at times this year. He’s been relatively productive in his role as the 3rd "pass catcher” after Kelce and Juju, but a few missed connections between he and Mahomes (frankly, mostly on Mahomes on some errant deep throws) have tempered his statistical output and big plays.
On Sunday, in the most important game of his career, MVS was asked to be more than a useful deep threat. The Chiefs needed someone to create separation against man coveage and make big catches to move the chains. And MVS delivered in a big way.
Let’s talk about MVS’s big day, and how on multiple important drives he showed up when Kansas City needed every single yard they could get. Because as nice as his stat line is, the plays within the framework of the game (and the manner in which they were made) were even crucial than the numbers show. Further, it’s interesting to look look at how MVS’s skillset forces teams to play Kansas City a certain way or risk being punished.
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