The Kansas City Chiefs delivered their biggest win of the season in Week 7, crushing the San Francisco 49ers with JuJu Smith-Schuster exploding for 124 yards and a touchdown. It appears the San Francisco 49ers can blame Call of Duty for what happened.
Smith-Schuster and the Chiefs’ offense became frustrated with their inconsistency early in the season. While they combined to score 71 points in victories over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs, it only managed 20 points in a Week 6 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
- JuJu Smith-Schuster stats (2022): 34 receptions, 494 receiving yards, 14.5 yards per catch
While tight end Travis Kelce was consistently delivering huge numbers, production from the Chiefs’ wide receivers varied widely each week. While practice provided them with some time to develop more chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, additional time was needed.
Related: Kansas City Chiefs schedule
Less than 48 hours before the Chiefs took the field against the 49ers, Mahomes and his top offensive weapons turned to Callo of Duty: Warzone to improve their rapport.
“I’m gonna tell you what got us the chemistry where we needed this game … we were playing Call of Duty together.
JuJu Smith-Schuster on what improved the Kansas City Chiefs’ chemistry in Week 7 (H/T PJ Green)
Mahomes, Kelce, Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling put the playbooks down and picked up the controllers on Friday night. Wanting to improve their on-field chemistry and performances, the teammates proved they could communicate and deliver on the virtual battlefield.
They proved to be just as dominant on Call of Duty as they were against the 49ers’ defense. Smith-Schuster shared that they won three consecutive games in a row and it seemed to provide them with the proof they needed that everything would work out on the field.
“We got off, like “damn.” It’s really hard to win a game in “Warzone,” in “Call of Duty.” You could just tell the communication between all of us — like the chemistry — it was like we were in a game. … Kinda just led into this game. Kinda just show on the field.
JuJu Smith-Schuster on how Call of Duty: Warzone helped the team
Asked by reporters later about the three-game match, Mahomes made it clear that the Chiefs’ front office doesn’t need to include a Kyler Murray-like language in his next contract for spending too much time playing video games. Friday night was a rare moment, but he’s happy it benefited the offense.
We’ll have to see if Murray tries to convince Kliff Kingsbury that some team bonding with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II can solve the woes that put the Arizona Cardinals last in the NFC West.
