Jaylen Watson stunned Chiefs fans by rising from the shadows to dominate when the defense was on the brink.QQ
Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson made many crucial plays against the top weapons of the Colts. As a result, he helped immensely to turn the tide in a comeback win for Kansas City.
The Kansas City Chiefs earned a thrilling come-from-behind victory on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. It was a challenging start, due to mistakes on each side of the ball. When looking back on the game, there were many things that allowed the Colts to remain comfortable across the first three quarters. It is not like Indianapolis did not accomplish anything impressive in that stretch. Though, Kansas City gifted them layups with some shaky miscues.
You can point to many names that helped Kansas City come back and win in overtime. Kareem Hunt had one of his most impressive games, despite a fumble in the second half. Rashee Rice came up with some explosive catches in crunch time. But on the defensive side of things, no one should let the results of Jaylen Watson go unnoticed.
Key pass breakup gains momentum late in first half
Watson began his run of great play in the last two minutes of the second quarter. Late in the first half, he delivered an excellent pass breakup on a third and one. Daniel Jones tested him down the field with Josh Downs and Watson played it perfectly. He located the ball, maintained correct body positioning and leverage, and forced the punt. That allowed K.C. to cut the first half deficit down even more going into halftime.
Indianapolis is stocked with one of the best supporting casts. It is truly a pick your poison for Jones inside of that offense. Yet, Watson completely shut down anything that came his way. And he did so when it mattered most- late in the game.
String of Indy three-and-outs emphasized with Watson’s play from slot
After going up 20-9 late in the third quarter, the Colts went three-and-out four times in a row. All four of those drives were their final four possessions in the game, including overtime. Indianapolis started that stretch of three-and-outs immediately after that aforementioned Hunt fumble.
One of those three-and-outs were completed by sticky coverage from Watson while he played the slot. He was matched up with Michael Pittman Jr. on the inside, Pittman Jr. ran a slant route, and the pass may have been a bit hurried by Jones. But with the physical coverage by Watson, he boosted the Chiefs with even more momentum, giving Patrick Mahomes the ball back with Kansas City down by three.
That sticky coverage was a theme for Watson throughout that run of empty Colts’ drives. He did not let anyone behind him and Jones did not even begin to test him all that much for the most part. The Colts quarterback was forced to settle for checkdowns and quick throws (credit goes to other Chiefs’ defenders for making the key tackles in space). But overall, Watson was in the zone so much that Indianapolis simply had their options eliminated to one side of the field in critical moments.
Whether it was the slot, on the outside, or working down the field, Watson was one of the main contributors in turning the tide during this Kansas City comeback. The Chiefs have routinely found late-round gems or diamonds in the rough at cornerback and Watson has proven to be a great bargain for the Kansas City defense in important moments in the past. In Sunday’s must-win game against Indianapolis, he answered the bell at the perfect times.
