“It’s Monday night, they’re going to bring their A-game,” Giants defensive back Logan Ryan said after practice Thursday. “They’ve got really good players. They’ve got championship-caliber players. I think they’re going to be at their best.”
Ryan pointed out how the Chiefs are still the number two passing offense in the league and that there are Pro Bowlers, like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, all over the team’s offensive roster.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us, but that’s just the challenge of the league….in order for us to win that game, we’ve got to play well on defense,” Ryan added.
A big part of the Chiefs’ woes has been the turnovers. The team has committed 18 turnovers through seven games and nine of them have been interceptions thrown by Mahomes. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham isn’t buying the narrative that this isn’t the same Mahomes who led his team to a Super Bowl just two years prior.
“Sometimes it’s just bad luck. I don’t know how many times you’re accounting for a D-end batting a ball and catching it himself, but [Mahomes] is a good player,” Graham said. “A whole bunch of stuff goes into that [stat].... It's not like those guys don’t know how to carry the ball. Again, the most explosive offense in our league for the last few years, so I would say part of it probably is bad luck, but it’s on us to try to capitalize off of that and see if we can make some plays with that and force them into turnovers. It’s going to be tough.”
When asked if he felt that Mahomes was having a “bad year,” Graham was quick to shoot down the notion, adding “Not if you’re watching the tape. He’s the best player in the league for a reason.”
The Giants will be down a key piece as safety Jabrill Peppers will miss the rest of the season with an ACL tear, but an impressive defensive performance on Monday could mean the defense has turned the corner just in time for the midway point.
