Chiefs gearing up to face a new Chargers QB: ‘He does things that Philip can’t do’
The Chargers (1-0) are a familiar foe for the Chiefs (1-0) as AFC West rivals, but there’s a different feel to Sunday’s divisional showdown.
Gone are quarterback Philip Rivers and running back Melvin Gordon, two foes the Chiefs know very well and have prepared for in the past.
This time around, the Chiefs will prepare for quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who could provide a bit of the unknown to the Chiefs’ defense.
“Philip had a great career there,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I mean, phenomenal career there. But again, they’re on to this new thing and he does things that Philip can’t do, and Philip does things that maybe aren’t Tyrod’s best thing.
“But I know he’s a heck of a quarterback and he can do a lot of things with the football. Most of all, he’s smart and he has a good arm.”
Unlike Rivers, who is widely regarded as a classic pocket passer, the 31-year-old Taylor can apply pressure to a defense as an experienced dual-threat quarterback.
Now in his 10th season with his fourth team, Taylor has appeared in 71 games with 47 starts and holds a 24-21-1 career record, including 1-1 against the Chiefs. He earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2015 while with the Buffalo Bills, and has passed for 9,770 yards and 54 touchdowns against 20 interceptions in his career.
Taylor is also capable of extending plays with his legs, evidenced by 1,850 career yards rushing with 16 touchdowns on 342 attempts for a respectable 5.4 yards per carry.
The Chiefs will square off against a different Chargers quarterback from what they’ve grown accustomed to, but they should come in prepared to deal with Taylor’s unique skillset.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo knows Taylor well from their time together in Baltimore.
And Spagnuolo, who served as the Ravens defensive coaching staff from 2013-14, isn’t taking the opposing signal-caller for granted because he’s seen what Taylor can do.
“I’ve got extreme respect for him,” Spagnuolo said Thursday. “He’s a premier athlete. I know he’s been in the league for a little bit, but I respect his athletic ability, what he can do when he tucks the ball down, how he can extend the down. I’ve seen it in practice; I’ve seen it in games when he was in Baltimore and Buffalo.”
Taylor helped the Chargers secure a Week 1 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, completing 16 of 30 passes for 208 yards.
While he didn’t light up the statistical sheet, Taylor did enough to keep the Bengals defense honest while the Chargers ground game heated up during the final two quarters of play. Led by running back Austin Ekeler, the Chargers totaled 155 on the game en route to a 16-13 victory.
“What I saw last week was a team that came out in the second half and decided they were going to win that football game by running the football,” Spagnuolo said. “I thought they did it really, really well. That was impressive to me.”
Nevertheless, the Chiefs are heavily favored in Week 2’s matchup and are 11-1 against the Chargers over the past 12 games.
Just don’t tell Kansas City that.
Sure, the Chargers have a new quarterback, but the Chiefs fully understand there are plenty of others around Taylor capable of hurting them.
And a team boasting weapons such as Ekeler, tight end Hunter Henry and wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams remains dangerous.
“They’ve got weapons; we know that,” Spagnuolo said. “I have respect for the quarterback because I’ve been around him, so I know our guys feel this: It’s going to be a heck of a challenge.
“It’s early in the year and we need to find a way to win a divisional game.”
This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 4:20 PM.
