The bulk of credit for the Kansas City Chiefs’ 6-2 record goes to running back Kenneth Walker. His 872 rushing yards ranks second in the league as Kansas City’s offense has retooled around the prized free agent signing.
For Kansas City to get a seventh win on Sunday in a road game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Chiefs will need a plan to slow down the running back who currently exceeds Walker’s total by eight yards.
On Thursday, the architect of Kansas City’s defense and the unit’s longest-tenured
player made it very clear that star running back Bijan Robinson is on their mind.
“We’re trying to play fundamentally sound,” said defensive tackle Chris Jones. “Reset the line of scrimmage with the D-line. He’s a very patient runner — inside and outside. He can break a big one every time his hands are on the ball. For us, it’s about playing fundamental football and playing disciplined.”
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has also noted Robinson’s ability to run both inside and outside — and how quickly he switches between the two.
“Especially [against] this kind of offensive scheme,” the coach explained, “It’s all about first building a wall — it’s interior to get it to go that way. Setting an edge, and I think the most important thing about this guy is tracking the hip. He’s as good as anybody. It might be a designed outside run play, but he ends up and now it feels an inside run play. When you start chasing the outside and get turned, that’s when he goes down hill. That’s why we’re preaching big this week about tracking the hips, so when he does decide to cut it back, we can eliminate some of those explosive runs. I think that’s when he really is effective.”
In their seven games, the Chiefs have allowed a single 100-yard rusher. They have held some of the league’s best backs — including Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts and Breece Hall of theNew York Jets — under the mark.
Jones believes the guidance from the team’s veteran coaching staff will serve them well again when they face Robinson.
“We’ve got really great coaches and great assistant coaches,” Jones remarked. “Spags calls the defense and puts us in the right position to execute. We do a lot of film study and a lot of watching of the tendencies of a team and what they do best. We try to counterreact to that.”
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