How Chiefs corners Sneed, McDuffie held their own in Sunday’s win at Minnesota Vikings
The Chiefs’ previous one-score victories this season ended with their offense on the field and quarterback Patrick Mahomes taking a knee.
But Sunday’s 27-20 triumph over the Minnesota Vikings fittingly ended with the defense on the field, doing all it could to prevent the hosts’ final charge at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Mike Danna delivered the conclusion, sacking Kirk Cousins after the Vikings had moved to midfield. Once again, the Chiefs’ pass defense made a statement.
Minnesota entered the game with the NFL’s third-ranked passing offense, and wide receiver Justin Jefferson was the Vikings’ top threat. But the Chiefs, led by cornerbacks L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie, limited Jefferson to three receptions for 28 yards before he left the game in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury.
Sneed and McDuffie also combined for five passed defended.
“We did a good job of getting our hands on him,” McDuffie said. “If you give him room, give him space, he’s going to be able to work. We just tried to disrupt the timing. That was a big thing for us this week.”
The Chiefs got plenty of pressure on Cousins and recorded three sacks. But defensive tackle Chris Jones, who collected a sack in his fourth straight game, threw his praise to the backfield.
“Hats off to those guys,” Jones said. “If we had a game ball, I’d give it to whole back end, especially against a great wide receiver and a heck of a quarterback.”
The Chiefs turned up the heat on the game’s biggest play: Cousins’ fourth-down pass to the end zone with about five minutes remaining. McDuffie’s pressure turned the throw into a floater. Sneed was penalized for pass interference initially, but the officials picked up the flag.
Cousins threw for two touchdowns but was sacked three times and finished below 300 yards (284) for the second time this season.
“We have great corners,” Chiefs safety Mike Edwards said. “We expect them to lock it down. We trust them. We were up to the challenge.”
The Chiefs’ secondary struck on the game’s first play, when safety Justin Reid jarred loose the ball from tight end Josh Oliver after a reception and safety Bryan Cook was there for the recovery. Coming into the game at plus-three, the KC secondary hasn’t been stellar in the turnover department.
But getting one right off the bat provided energy.
“A fast start for us, a great feeling for the defense to go out there and make a play right away,” Reid said.
The Chiefs turned the takeaway into a quick touchdown.
For Sneed, Sunday marked his second straight strong effort against a top wide receiver. Against the Jets last week, he spent the majority of his snaps defending Garrett Wilson, holding the talented wideout to two receptions for 20 yards on six targets when he was matched up against him.
It wasn’t a perfect game for the defense and secondary on Sunday. During one first-half drive, the Chiefs amassed four defensive penalties, all on players defending Jefferson. Sneed was called for two of them.
The drive ended with a Minnesota field goal.
“Those were mistakes,” Sneed said. “We have to stop the penalties.”
But otherwise, this was a very good effort for the Chiefs’ pass defense. The Vikings’ Pro Bowl tight end, T.J. Hockenson, came up with five receptions but also multiple drops.
“They have some of the top receivers in the league,” Edward said. “But we were up to the challenge.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2023 at 9:06 PM.