Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid had a chance to speak about the team’s AFC Championship Game opponent for the first time on Monday.
They’ll get to a rematch with the Cincinnati Bengals — their opponent in last year’s AFC title game and most recently in Week 13. Those two games were both hard-fought, but when the clock struck zero, they were each 27-24 losses for Kansas City.
Asked what he felt the team has learned in their most recent games with Cincinnati, Reid explained that the Bengals and Chiefs are quite familiar with each other now.
“Well, we know they’re talented in all three phases,” Reid said. “It’s (mostly) the same guys playing against each other. I’m sure both teams will have adjustments that they make and both teams will play hard, and we’ll just see – I mean these games have been close – so we’ll just see how it goes come game time.”
One of the biggest struggles in both of those games was the team’s ability to get Joe Burrow sacked and on the ground. Reid spoke about that challenge as it related to Chris Jones’ motivation and frustrations from a year ago.
“Yeah, he’s a strong kid,” Reid said of Burrow. “He is elusive and you’ve got to make sure that you wrap him up. Chris (Jones) probably said it the best. He was the one out there working it. So, he’s a heck of a football player.”
Finally, one of the biggest challenges for Reid’s offense has been finding consistent success against Bengals DC Lou Anarumo. Reid had nothing but praise for Anarumo, from the coaching of personnel down to his coverage schemes.
“Yeah, first of all, he’s done a great job,” Reid said of Anarumo “He puts his guys in position to make plays. He has a variety of different coverages and fronts that he works with. His players understand him. Zones are tight. They do a good job of man-to-man (coverage), so (it’s a) well-rounded scheme that he has.”
Reid and his coaching staff have their work cut out for them this week as Kansas City attempts to make it to their third Super Bowl in the last four seasons. These games have been very close and this one will likely be no different. The key is simply tipping the scales in favor of the Chiefs.
