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Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson made a timely and unexpected return to the lineup for the team’s Divisional round game against the Houston Texans.
Once thought to be done for the season after needing ankle surgery, Watson played 40 snaps (59%) against Houston, then another 52 (71%) against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship.
Despite Nazeeh Johnson starting in both matchups, Watson out-snapped him in each game, and he continues to trend in the right direction.
“We didn’t wanna throw Jalen in the fire after that much time off,” explained defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on Friday. “He was gonna go from walkthroughs and how our practices are — we don’t have any pads on or anything — so we thought we’d try to ease him in in that first game [against the Texans].”
Kansas City’s latest injury report indicated Watson was a full participant during the team’s Super Bowl bye week practices.
“[Waston] got more in this past game [against the Bills], and we would anticipate that the same thing would happen here [against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX],” added Spagnuolo. “But it’s like I tell all those secondary guys: ‘All hands on deck, we’re gonna need everybody.’
“I mean, somebody gets dinged, they’re gonna have to go out, and then we have some packages where both those guys are in there at the same time. So when it’s all said and done, I just hope whoever is in there is playing real effective.”
Per Pro Football Focus, Watson grades out (75.3) as the third-best Chiefs defensive back in terms of coverage this season, only behind cornerback Trent McDuffie (80.7) and safety Justin Reid (77.0).
