Week 3 might be pretty early in the season for a trap game to rear its ugly head, ready to bite any team that dares look past a lowly opponent. But that’s exactly what the Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) WON’T be doing when they play the Indianapolis Colts (0-1-1) this weekend.
Kansas City plays Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4, the first time the Chiefs will face Brady since the 8-time Super Bowl champ embarrassed them in Super Bowl 55. This is why Kansas City’s current matchup with a severely beatable Colts team may be considered a trap game since the game that comes right after carries much more significance.
But rest assured, head coach Andy Reid has his team focused on playing one opponent at a time, and right now, that’s the Colts.
“We look forward to the challenge of playing the Colts,” Reid told reporters. “We know they’re a good football team, and in this thing, record aside, I mean they’re talented, well-coached (and a) well-organized organization. We’ve got to make sure we have a good week of practice, and that’s starting today.”
The Chiefs have not often fallen victim to a trap game during the Andy Reid era. That’s because he usually ensures his players are focused on the game they have in front of them and aren’t looking ahead.
“You can’t skip over anybody,” said Reid. “Not that our guys would, [but] there’s so much parity in this league, its’ crazy. Every game, you’ve got to be spot on. So, I don’t think anybody’s looking at that game. I sense that there’s a big focus on this game. This team is very talented, so you have to stay on top of that.”
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes also preaches his coach’s philosophy and is doing his part as a leader to ensure the locker room focuses on just one opponent each week.
“The Colts are a great football team; I think all of us understand that,” Mahomes declared to reporters. “When you look at their roster, they’ve got playmakers everywhere, guys that have made plays in this league for a long time. We understand how tough of an opponent they’re going to be. So, we’re not looking ahead at anything. We’re looking straight at the Colts and know it’s going to be a tough matchup for us to go to Indy in their home opener and try to find a way to get a win.”
There are plenty of playmakers the Colts have on the defensive side of the ball, and Mahomes knows he’ll have his work cut out for him as he and the offense try to put points on the board.
“Yeah, it’s another defense that’s great at all levels,” Mahomes explained. “You said it, (cornerback) Stephon Gilmore, (linebacker) Shaquille Leonard will, I think, probably be back, so he’s a great linebacker, one of the best (if) not the best linebacker in the league. Their defensive line, all four guys – Yannick Ngakoue, Kwity Paye, Grover [Stewart], [DeForest] Buckner, of course, I’ve played against before. They’re great players, so when you have that many great playmakers on defense, you understand how hard it’s going to be to get points, so we have to execute at a high level if we want to go out there and win a football game.”
One area that has not been up to par through two games has the QB play for Indianapolis. The Colts are on their fourth starting QB since Andrew Luck’s abrupt retirement in 2019. So far, the Matt Ryan era is off to a terrible start as the 14-year vet has yet to gain his footing with his new team, completing 60% of his passes for 547 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions.
But the Chiefs aren’t fixated on Ryan’s struggles of late and feel it’s only a matter of time before Matty Ice returns to the form we’re used to seeing him play.
“Yeah, so, this time of the year, you have to prepare yourself for anything and everything,” Reid explained. “Obviously, [Matt] Ryan’s proven to be a good player, so we don’t get caught up in all that. We know what he’s capable of doing, so we don’t mess around with that. We’ll just get ourselves ready to go against their scheme.”
Trap games will eventually get the better of a few unsuspecting clubs as the season progresses (they do every year). But Chiefs fans can be assured that won’t be happening this week as Kansas City looks to spoil the Colts’ home opener in order to remain perfect on the season.
Kickoff is slated for a noon start.
