The Kansas City Chiefs can owe a portion of their current four-game winning streak to the depth of their roster. The work done by General Manager Brett Veach and his staff ensured that the team would be ready for injuries or multiple package changes during a game.
When speaking with reporters on Monday, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy shared his thoughts on adjusting the game plan without Travis Kelce in the lineup due to his ankle injury.
“Whenever you have any type of injuries with any player, you always have to go through kind of and say, Okay, this is what we think is going to happen, and based off of, you know, Travis (Kelce) and or whoever the player is, we as a staff, you know, just listening to Rick Burkholder and (Brett) Veach, and Coach (Andy) Reid, and just listening to where they think things are, we have to be able to put together what we think is going to happen, and then that contingency plan.”
Kelce left towards the end of the first half only to return later in the second half, but during his absence, the offense was able to move the ball down the field, eventually leading to a touchdown.
“These players, they gotta, if you’re a certain position, you also have to understand that if this guy can or cannot go, you have to know those circles and spots. I keep talking about the concept. And not just that one position that you’re playing right now. I think the way that we teach this offense allows us guys to do that. And so with guys like Travis (Kelce), there’s going to be defensive coordinators that go into every game with a plan that stops Travis. We know that. So, it’s the first element of what we want to do with them. But then it’s the second element, or what’s the defense going to do? And then I suppose you could say the third element of his health, so all of that is just a constant communication throughout the day of where guys are each week, and then we always have our prepare with him with a contingency plan or a backup plan.”
Nagy and the offense showed their strength, with ten different receivers recording catches in the game.