Will the Kansas City Chiefs be unable to see L’Jarius Sneed play against the Baltimore Ravens?

After months of Super Bowl celebrations, draft analysis, bold predictions, camp practice reports and preseason games that featured far more Chris Oladokun than Patrick Mahomes, it’s finally time for TRUE football games. This Thursday marks the start of the NFL season, with our Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Baltimore Ravens in a rematch of the AFC Championship Game. The Chiefs won that game 17-10, thanks in large part to the game-changing play of L’Jarius Sneed.

The Chiefs built a 17-7 halftime lead but were unable to score in the second half. The Ravens almost scored a touchdown to make up for seven points they gave up in the second half when Zay Flowers fumbled the ball at the goal line to Sneed. That was by far the highlight of the game. When the Chiefs take the field on Thursday, it will be the first time Sneed (who was traded to the Tennessee Titans in the offseason) will not be there.

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The Chiefs and Ravens are projected to once again be the top two teams in the AFC, with both teams having serious Super Bowl aspirations this season. While the Chiefs may feel better about their offense this season compared to what we saw for most of last season, there is reason to worry that the Chiefs may not notice Sneed’s absence on the defensive end, especially early in the season.

The challenge for the Chiefs defense against the Ravens is that they will be one of the more physical running teams in the NFL this season. The Chiefs still have to worry about Lamar Jackson running back, but now the Ravens have added Derrick Henry as their primary quarterback. Nothing against Gus Edwards, but it’s a big step up for the Ravens.

So it’s safe to assume the Chiefs will have to design their defense for this matchup to stop the run. That could mean their corners being on an island on the outside while their safeties focus on the run game. That was a lot less scary when KC had Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed to shut down their guys.

This offseason, the Chiefs have given Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson, Nazeeh Johnson and others a chance to earn the No. 2 cornerback spot, but none of them have stepped up to the plate and earned it. After the roster cuts, the Chiefs have reportedly been interested in several cornerbacks, showing they are still far from satisfied with the guys they currently have on the roster at that position.

The Chiefs depth chart currently lists Joshua Williams as the starter opposite Trent McDuffie, but I suspect we’ll see some rotation. Steve Spagnuolo will likely try to put different corners in situations that better suit their individual strengths. Having a defensive coordinator like Spagnuolo helps, but he’s also known to keep his game plans a little more boring early in the season, then pull out more complex stuff when playoff time comes.

While the Ravens may not have the league’s most dangerous group of wide receivers when you add in their tight ends, the group of Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely is still dangerous enough to take advantage of a team that only has one proven cornerback, especially if the defense thinks run-first and doesn’t yet use its full arsenal of tricks. Trent McDuffie might take away one option, but that still leaves Baltimore with a few playmakers who can win games.

Besides, this whole discussion could be for nothing if the Chiefs can’t stop Derrick Henry and the run game. We could probably have another conversation about whether the Chiefs will miss Willie Gay Jr. at linebacker in a game like this. It’s worth noting, though, that the Chiefs under Spagnuolo have shown they can stop the run pretty well when that’s their primary goal. The times when teams have had big run defenses against the Chiefs have been when KC has decided to focus on pass defense at the expense of run defense. I don’t think that’s the case here.

This game could very well come down to a matchup of KC’s “other” corners against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore passing attack. If Jackson can capitalize on this matchup, it could be a long day for the Chiefs. If KC wins this matchup, despite the focus on the Ravens’ running game, Baltimore could struggle to put points on the board. This is definitely something I’ll be keeping a close eye on, both in this game and in KC’s overall defensive posture moving forward without L’Jarius Sneed in the lineup.

What do you think, Chiefs fans? Are you worried about the Ravens using KC corners who aren’t named Trent McDuffie? Do you think Spagnuolo will be able to bypass that group, or do you think the loss of L’Jarius Sneed will be a big factor early in the season? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.