NEW ORLEANS — During his media availability Tuesday, the first player Chiefs coach Andy Reid praised was receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who played his first game for Kansas City in late December.
Reid knows that Brown’s return to the lineup after he missed most of the regular season with a left collarbone injury helped the Chiefs offense be at its most potent for the most important games of the season. In four games, Brown has been another viable passing option for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, posting 12 receptions for 126 yards. The Chiefs were victorious in each of those games, averaging 27.75 points per game, more than five points above their regular-season average.
“Just knowing the threat I am on the field and what I got around us, I feel we all compliment each other very well,” Brown said Tuesday of running routes alongside tight end Travis Kelce, receiver DeAndre Hopkins and rookie receiver Xavier Worthy. “Coach Reid didn’t rush me back and let my legs get under me. That’s really helped out a lot.”
Hollywood Brown is BACK.#KCvsPIT on @Netflix pic.twitter.com/UVsUsu1Ztn
— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2024
On the opening snap of the preseason in August, Brown suffered a dislocated collarbone when he was driven to the turf awkwardly on his left shoulder. The Chiefs learned a month later that they would play most of the regular season without Brown. He needed surgery to repair his SC joint, which connects the collarbone to the sternum.
In the modern NFL, Brown’s circumstances were so rare that no player in the league in the past decade needed that surgery. After the Chiefs consulted several specialists, Brown had his surgery done in Vail, Colo., by surgeon Peter Millett, who had performed the procedure on professional skiers.
Brown’s rehab went better than he and the team expected. Brown began sprinting to rebuild his conditioning in late October. A month later, while the Chiefs practiced outside, Brown posted a video on his Instagram account of him making one-handed catches off the JUGS machine on the indoor practice field.
“I saw how excited it got the guys and my coaches,” Brown said when he began practicing in early December. “That pushed me even harder to try to come back.”
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Brown thanked Millett again Tuesday for his work on his shoulder, which allowed him to contribute to the Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game victory. In the Chiefs’ win against the Buffalo Bills, Reid and Mahomes involved Brown early in the passing game. Brown finished with three receptions for 35 yards.
“He’s done really well,” Reid said. “I appreciate what he’s done since he’s come back.”
Coaching up the first-timers
Although the Chiefs are aiming to capture an unprecedented third consecutive Lombardi Trophy, a small group of players are playing in Sunday’s game with the motivation of earning their first Super Bowl ring. The Chiefs feature just five players who were with the team in 2019 when the franchise won its first Super Bowl in 50 years.
This year’s team has role players who will perform on the NFL’s biggest stage for the first time — Brown, Hopkins, Worthy, running back Kareem Hunt, left guard Mike Caliendo, defensive end Charles Omenihu, rookie safety Jaden Hicks and special teams returner Nikko Remigio.
“The magnitude of this game, none of the young guys have experienced it,” Reid said. “That’s where I respect our (veteran) guys so much, being willing to share with others. When we had injuries, guys welcomed guys in and tried to get them up to date to help us win games.”
Even before the Chiefs arrived in New Orleans for the game’s week of festivities, several veterans — including Mahomes, pass rusher Chris Jones and left tackle Joe Thuney — have provided advice to their less-experienced teammates.
“They told me it’s going to be a long time before the game starts,” Hunt said. “We’ll have a longer halftime, so don’t waste too much energy. Don’t play the game (in your mind) before the game.”
A year ago, linebacker Drue Tranquill was one of those newcomers who didn’t know what to expect.
“It’s a long week,” Tranquill said. “We have seven days of things we have to do to build the game up — and the game deserves it. Our fans deserve to hear from us.”
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The player who is expected to be the last one to address the team Saturday night is tight end Travis Kelce, the 12-year veteran and future Hall of Famer. Kelce knows how he felt the night before playing in his first Super Bowl, and he, as he did last year, will use his words and experiences to help his teammates play their best in the biggest game of their career.
“Beyond his athletic ability, it’s what he means to the team from a chemistry and energy standpoint,” club owner Clark Hunt said of Kelce. “A lot of our young players have said, ‘I can’t believe how hard Travis practices every day.’ Here’s the most veteran player on the team, somebody who has earned the right to take it easy during the week if he wants, but he goes full speed.
“On game days, he’s an energy giver on the sideline, particularly when things are not going our way. He encourages the guys. Those qualities are as important as his tremendous athletic ability.”
Chiefs’ challenge to pressure edges on Hurts
A couple of key pass pressure statistics should indicate a weak point the Chiefs might be able to expose with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Via TruMedia, Hurts held the ball the longest of any quarterback this season, averaging 3.31 seconds to throw the football. He also felt the most pressure of any QB as a result with a 40.5 percent pressure rate.
Good news for the Chiefs’ edge rushing duo of George Karlaftis and Charles Omenihu, right? Well, maybe not.
The Eagles present arguably the most potent tackle duo in the league in keeping pressure off Hurts.
Lane Johnson ranked No. 1 in the league among right tackles in pressure percentage allowed, yielding only a 2.4 percent rate. Plus, Jordan Mailata ranked fifth among left tackles with a 3.7 percent pressure rate.
“I played against Lane a few times,” Karlaftis said. “He’s a beast and he’s one of the best, one of the best, if not the best in the game right now. I have a lot of respect for him, you know, just give him my all in order to help this team win the Super Bowl.”
KARLAFTIS AGAIN. His 3rd sack of the game and KC’s 8th!
📺: #HOUvsKC on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/UyzBYVnsdl— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2025
Karlaftis has been the most consistent pass rusher for Kansas City outside of defensive tackle Chris Jones in the past couple of seasons. The third-year edge rusher amassed the fourth most pass rush snaps (511) this season with eight sacks and an 11.9 percent pressure rate (54th).
The 2022 first-round pick has turned up the heat in the postseason, though, with three sacks and a pressure rate of 17.9 percent, which is the best mark of any defender in the playoffs who’s playing in Super Bowl LIX.
Adding a boost from Omenihu would be a bonus.
In his six regular-season games, Omenihu struggled to regain the speed and explosiveness he had last season before suffering his ACL injury a year ago. He tallied only an 8.3 percent pressure rate on 145 pass-rush snaps in the regular season. His effectiveness has been cut in half in the postseason with a 4.4 percent pressure rate and one sack on 45 pass-rush snaps.
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With that in mind, Omenihu zeroed in on his technique while studying Johnson and Mailata heading into Sunday’s Super Bowl.
“I look at how they set the verticals or the angle centers take,” Omenihu said. “Where their outside hand is or their hand punch inside, hand puncher, double hand puncher. And then I have my own moves … (and) I categorize ‘OK, this is how much of this I can use.’ I’ll set them up and then it’s like a mental thing I gain, and in the course of the game I’m like, ‘OK I do this.’”
Humphrey vs. Carter
Seemingly no one tests Chiefs center Creed Humphrey, no matter what he might say. He’s the league’s best center in pressure percentage allowed with a lowly 1.1 percent mark.
“With leverage, you’re trying to move a guy against his will off the ball,” Humphrey said. “So you’ve got to be able to have leverage to do that, being able to get underneath their pads, being lower than them, getting them upright and tall to make them easier to move. … Learning fundamentals and technique I think are the biggest keys. Understanding the technique of an offensive lineman, I think that’s the biggest part of the game. If you’re off on your movements by one inch, it can completely mess up a play. So there’s the exact movements, exact techniques that you’ve got to be able to do … to play the game.”
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter will be the next “challenge” for Humphrey on Sunday.
Carter’s 10.4 percent pressure rate in 2024 dipped from his 12.7 percent mark from his rookie season. The Eagles defender has ramped up his play in the postseason with a 15.5 percent rate (a team best) and two sacks.
“Yeah, he’s a great player, so he’s really disruptive in run and passing situations, so he’s a tough guy to play against, and we’re excited to prep this week.”
It helps that Humphrey practices daily against someone as dangerous as Chris Jones, who’s also on a tear with a 16.4 percent pressure rate.
“Chris (Jones) is the best in the league, obviously extremely disruptive, extremely physical, fast, strong, great with his hands, all those things,” Humphrey said. “So being able to get that working with Chris … I think helps.”
(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
