The Kansas City Chiefs are facing an extremely important matchup against the Falcons in Atlanta this upcoming weekend. At a surprising 8-3 on the season, Kansas City currently holds the top wild card spot in the AFC and is just one game behind the Oakland Raiders in the AFC West.
One of the biggest keys in a game that pits two likely playoff teams against one another is just how the Chiefs’ defense plans on stopping Falcons receiver Julio Jones.
Jones heads into Week 13 leading the NFL with 1,140 receiving yards while averaging a whopping 17.5 yards per catch. He’s one of the primary reasons Atlanta currently boasts the top scoring offense in the league and sits in first place in the NFC South.
The Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid have their own weapon, one that might be able to shut Jones down. It comes in the form of second-year corner Marcus Peters, who continues to prove himself worthy of the label of the best ball-hawking defensive back in the NFL.
Though, Reid himself doesn’t seem too confident in his team’s ability to stop Jones. Well, that’s unless Jones himself misses the bus to the Georgia Dome on Sunday.
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For however good Peters has been forcing turnovers (15 in 26 career games), he’s also been vulnerable to the big play. We saw this earlier in the season when the likes of Allen Robinson and Devin Funchess both burnt him deep.
Atlanta will look to take advantage of Peters’ gambling mentality in the defensive backfield. In turn, Peters will attempt to turn up the pressure by creating a turnover or two.
Despite Reid’s tongue-in-cheek comment, this is one of the best matchups on the Week 13 slate.