Why the secret hero for KC Chiefs vs. Raiders was a rookie playing his second real snap
Cornerback Joshua Williams looked down the line of scrimmage and figured what was coming next.
The Kansas City Chiefs were about to send an all-out blitz, and Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr could sense it. This was on a fourth-and-1 in the final minute of Monday’s game, and Carr made eye contact with Raiders receiver Davante Adams.
Who also was the man standing directly across from Williams.
“I kind of knew the ball is coming. It’s hot,” Williams said. “It allowed me to get ready to play ball.”
This critical play in Kansas City’s 30-29 victory over Las Vegas is worth revisiting while considering all the details.
Because seeing the quick replay of Carr throwing an incomplete pass to turn it over on downs doesn’t reflect the actual craziness of the moment.
Start with this: Williams was only on the field because teammate Rashad Fenton had to come out of the game because of cramps earlier that possession. This was Williams’ second defensive snap of the game.
And he hadn’t played on defense on the previous game, or the one before that, or the one before that, either.
In his professional life, the fourth-round draft pick had only played defense in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ opening game against Arizona, when the score was already out of reach.
So his second real-life, big-boy, “This is the NFL” defensive snap? It was coming in the fourth quarter of a one-point game against the man that NFL.com ranked as the best receiver on the planet this preseason.
Not that any of that affected Williams’ self-belief.
“Davante is a great player, but at the end of the day, he puts his pants on just like me,” Williams said in front of his locker afterward. “I feel like I’m pretty prepared to go out there and guard the best in the world.”
Good thing, because Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had no thoughts of taking it easy on him.
Spagnuolo dialed up a seven-man blitz on the fourth-and-short, leaving man coverage with no safety help across the field. Williams was going to be on his own against Adams, playing him inside leverage while thinking one thing pre-snap: “I need to get my hands on him.”
The Chiefs’ pressure was likely going to force a quick throw, which meant jamming Adams would be necessary to throw off the timing. Williams got a piece of Adams, then tried to stay tied to his hip, knowing the ball was likely to come out quick and tight.
With every movement he made, Williams believed the ball was coming his way.
That thinking was valid for a few reasons. Not only was Adams Las Vegas’ top target, but Raiders coach Josh McDaniels had dialed up a deep touchdown pass to Adams earlier on a fourth-and-short while guessing that Spagnuolo was going to bring pressure to stop the run.
McDaniels was expecting the same mentality from Spagnuolo on this play, too.
“They were aggressive, so we were trying to be aggressive too,” McDaniels said, “and thought we had an opportunity to make a play.”
This one, though, was partly foiled by Williams’ execution.
His physicality at the line of scrimmage appeared to slow Adams’ route ever so slightly — a detail noted on Monday Night Football by analyst Troy Aikman. With Adams’ slower release, the rest of the play was thrown off as well, as Adams collided with teammate Hunter Renfrow after turning upfield, leaving Carr’s deep throw to thud to the turf with no receiver around.
That was fortunate, Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill said, as he was assigned to cover Renfrow man-to-man. He was expecting something quick from Renfrow because of the situation, but he later admitted to teammates that the receiver had run a “heck of a route.”
“Sometimes the football gods are with you, and they ran into each other,” Thornhill said. “So I’m happy for that.”
The Chiefs’ defensive scramble drill didn’t stop with Williams on that play either.
Safety Deon Bush also was called into spot duty after rookie Bryan Cook went into concussion protocol. According to game logs, Bush had played a combined four defensive snaps for the Chiefs in the last three weeks combined.
It was Bush’s effort on the previous third-and-1 play that forced Adams to try to make a contested catch near the sideline; officials initially ruled it a 15-yard reception before it was overturned by replay.
As for Williams, he said remaining ready was a part of his weekly preparation. And the fact that Spagnuolo dialed up the biggest blitz he could find with Williams in for his second real snap? All the more indication that he had faith in all the guys on the depth chart.
“He doesn’t care who’s out there,” Williams said. “He wants the play done, to get executed.”
Thornhill complimented Williams on Monday night, saying, he “prepares every single week like a starter, so when it was his time to come in, he performed.”
“I’m happy that he had the confidence to come in and do that, because some guys would be scared to do that in a critical game like this,” Thornhill said. “I take my hat off to him.”
Williams, meanwhile, said he was fine with fate shining on the Chiefs during that game-changing play Monday.
He said he “absolutely” thought the pass was coming his way and was preparing to make a play on the ball in the air against Adams.
That is ... until the two Raiders wideouts unexpectedly ran into each other.
“Once that happened, I didn’t have to do too much work after that,” Williams said, before smiling. “Hunter Renfrow did a better job guarding than me.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
