Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill might not have intended to motivate the Tennessee Titans, their opponent in Sunday’s AFC Championship, but he provided some bulletin board inspiration. Hill told reporters after Wednesday’s practice that he believes no NFL team can cover him and his fellow wide receivers.
“I feel like nobody in the NFL can guard any of us, and that’s no disrespect to nobody,†Hill said. “That’s just the confidence that I got in myself and the wideouts I’ve got around me, including the tight ends and the running backs. I feel like no DB unit, no secondary unit, no linebacker, any defense can guard any of us. So man-to-man is just easy for us to beat. If you just allow us to run through zones, it’s even easier.â€
When Tennessee played the Chiefs in the regular season on Nov. 10, Hill was right. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 446 yards, but the Titans won the game, 35-32. Despite beating the Chiefs, the Titans are 7-point underdogs in Sunday’s AFC Championship at Arrowhead Stadium.
Can Kansas City’s Defense Stop Derrick Henry?
Of course Kansas City has an offensive threat of their own to worry about in the form of Tennessee running back Derrick Henry. Henry has been virtually unstoppable in the playoffs. In the wild-card game against New England, he had 182 yards. Last weekend, in the divisional playoff game against Baltimore, the Ravens made it a priority to try and limit Henry’s production. He rushed for 195 yards in the upset. Baltimore had the No. 5 rushing defense in the regular season.
Now it’s the Chiefs turn, and Kansas City safety Tyrann Mathieu said the team has to find a way to at least slow Henry down. The Chiefs had the No. 26th-ranked rushing defense during the regular season.
“I think the most important thing is we’ve got to finish the game strong,” Mathieu said. “If you watch a lot of Derrick Henry, he gets stronger as the game goes on. His first halves aren’t that great, but second-half football, he takes off. So we got to be well-rested, hydrated in order to kind of finish the game, try to compete against him and slow him down when it matters the most in the fourth quarter.â€
Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers Compliments 49ers
While Tyreek Hill was dissing the Titans, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had nothing but nice things to say about the San Francisco 49ers, the team’s opponent in Sunday’s NFC Championship game. Rodgers, who lost to the 49ers in the regular season, 37-8, told reporters on Wednesday that he admires San Francisco.
“You realize playing against them how good they are,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “At the time they had a two-game lead after that game, plus obviously, the tiebreaker. Just calculating things in my head, I thought if we got to the playoffs and made a run, we’d probably have to beat them at their place at some point. Sure enough, we’re back in a situation where we have to do it to get to the Super Bowl.”
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