4 Chiefs Stars Who Can’t Let Their Team Down in Sunday Night Showdown with Chargers

The matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers this week provides many options with a clear chance at a big game or a bounce-back outing.

December football is a time in the calendar where the margin for error becomes slimmer. And especially for a team like the Kansas City Chiefs, you know you are going to see everyone’s best shot. As back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions, the Chiefs will need certain role players to step up as the season creeps along. That was a key ingredient in their three Super Bowl wins over the last five seasons.

For some of these role players, getting a strong performance under their belt would instill further confidence in the Chiefs as the playoffs near. Kansas City is likely hoping to see more consistency in certain areas of the roster. But overall, the matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers this week provides many options with a clear chance at a big game or a bounce-back outing.

Who are some Chiefs players that could use a big performance against the Chargers? Here are four names worth keeping in mind going into Sunday.

Chamarri Conner

While the Chiefs’ pass defense has shown some warts in recent weeks, Chamarri Conner has endured a bit of a rough patch. When opposing quarterbacks target him, it has been almost too easy of completions over the last few games.

Part of this could be due to him and some other Kansas City defensive backs playing out of position, because of the Jaylen Watson injury. Conner has played in tighter alignments against pass catchers one-on-one. But in space or down the field, receivers have been able to separate against him far too simply. Many key matchups, both physical opponents and shifty route runners, await for Conner against Los Angeles. Can he have a rebound performance?

Jawaan Taylor

While left tackle has been an obvious spot grabbing plenty of headlines, a bounce back for Jawaan Taylor could be monumental for Kansas City’s offense. The Chargers did a good job of not letting Patrick Mahomes escape and get out of the pocket a lot in the first matchup. Taylor will need to be able to recognize where Los Angeles is attacking.

If Taylor can maintain leverage and not get pushed back, the Chiefs can likely stay ahead of the sticks and on schedule. Mahomes has really played efficiently over the last month or so. But when he does not have the proper protection, the offense looks like it cannot even reach efficiency. A solid outing from Taylor will go a long way toward how well KC’s offense operates.

Bryan Cook

Going back to the defensive back spot, Bryan Cook has been up and down lately. Skill position players have forced him to miss tackles or have run around him in the open field. Elsewhere, Cook has been late to react and recognize tendencies in coverage. Some of that could be due to other defensive backs being pressed into new or unique roles.

But for Cook overall, it has been a bit of a quiet campaign. A big game from him could be critical for the Chiefs’ safety moving forward. Given his consistently high snap count, Cook will be forced to show up more often as the games become more vital.

JuJu Smith-Schuster

We know what kind of capabilities JuJu Smith-Schuster can have in this Chiefs offense as a third or fourth option. He can be reliable as a piece in the middle of the field, in contested catch situations, or in tight areas like the red zone. The numbers have been limited for Smith-Schuster since returning from injury a few weeks ago.

While he does not have to have a monster day in receiving yards against the Chargers, getting him going or involved a bit more could increase confidence in the pass-catching group around Mahomes. Increasing his targets and getting him some more catches would be a nice boost for Kansas City heading into the bulk of December.