Giants, Xavier McKinney ready for ‘challenging’ showdown with Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs may enter Week 8 with an uncharacteristic 3-4 record but the New York Giants don’t want to hear anything about that.
Andy Reid’s group, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, presents a unique challenge for Big Blue. They sport one of the best rosters the Giants will oppose all season and New York simply isn’t buying into the idea that the Chiefs have fallen off.
“I know they’re a really good team, that’s what I do know about them,” McKinney told reporters on Wednesday. “Like I said last week, teams every year have bad starts, but they could always turn it around, so I’m not too much worried about it. I know their team that is able to turn it around. I know they have the power to do that, so I’m not too much worried about that. It’s going to be challenge for us either way.”
That was a message likely relayed to the players by head coach Joe Judge, who literally laughed off any notion that Kansas City is no longer the superpower they once were.
“I mean, how’d the league catch up to them? Is everyone as fast as Tyreek Hill or (wide receiver Mecole) Hardman? Can everybody cover the ball as deep as he can throw that thing? I think it’s a foolish narrative for us to buy into if we think this team isn’t as good as they are,” Judge said. “This is a damn good team. They’re very explosive, they’re very dangerous. These guys are going to be playing their best ball Monday night. We’re going out into a tough atmosphere, it’s a lot of great energy out there, so we’ve got to get ready this week to play our best football.”
Pressed again about the Chiefs’ record, Judge continued to push back.
“Nobody in this building is going to in any way, shape or form underestimate this team. Period,” Judge said more firmly. “This is a very good team. We know that. We know how dangerous and explosive they are. We always expect everybody’s best game. It’s our job to make sure that we’re not overconfident or underestimate anybody.”
Part of the reason the Chiefs are 3-4 is due to their struggling defense, which is led by former Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. But even on that side of the football, quarterback Daniel Jones & Co. refuse to overlook them.
“They’re a good defense. They’ve been a good defense for the past however many years, the Chiefs have been a top team in the league. They’ve got really good players on defense, guys who can disrupt the game and who can make big time plays. I don’t think there’s anyone on our team or in this building who’s going to overlook them,” Jones said.
“I think they’re a pressure team, for sure. They do a lot of different things. I think it’s one of the strengths of the defense is they show you a lot of different looks. So, it’ll be important to see it pre-snap and post-snap, and then recognize pressure when it’s coming. But that’s certainly still a part of what they’re doing.”
It’s obvious the Giants are taking the right approach in their preparation for the Chiefs — not that they’d have a right to overlook anyone at this point. The Chiefs are going to come out angry and their fans are going to be loud, creating an extremely hostile environment.
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