Getty Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
When the Kansas City Chiefs take the field against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football in Week 2, Kansas City’s offensive line will be in for quite the challenge.
The addition of Khalil Mack this offseason was felt in Week 1 for the Chargers, as Los Angeles’ defense accumulated 6 sacks in the win over the divisional-rival Las Vegas Raiders, with 3 of those sacks coming from Mack.
First game for Khalil Mack as a Charger: 3 sacks against his former team the #Raiders
In Week 2, Mack, along with fellow elite pass rusher Joey Bosa, will take turns facing Brown, who didn’t have a stellar Week 1 performance. Against the Arizona Cardinals, Brown gave up 1 quarterback hit and 4 quarterback hurries, according to PFF. Yet, the mediocre performance isn’t stopping Brown from embracing even tougher competition in Week 2.
Brown: ‘I Look Forward to the Competition’
“Yeah, they’re two very special talents, both in their own way,” Brown said of Mack and Bosa during his press conference on September 13. “Both have been doing it for a long time as well and they’re very consistent while doing it. I think they both play with a ton of power; you know they have – I don’t want to say a lot of different moves – but they have a lot of successful moves and different styles in the way that they set up their moves. They’re both really good pass‐rushers, we’ll have our hands full this week.”
“It’s the NFL, we’re all excited for the challenge, you know what I mean? I didn’t sign up to do this to necessarily go against guys who weren’t elite at what they do,” Brown said when asked about the AFC West defenses being stronger than they were last season. “So, I look forward to the competition and being able to get out there and compete against that type of talent.”
Brown also detailed what he must do to prepare for players like Mack and Bosa.
“Regardless, man, you kind of have to study who you’re playing and study their tendencies and all those different things,” Brown explained. “As far as extra, just with the short week, man, taking care of my body.”
Mahomes Evaluates Chargers Defense
Speaking to the media on September 13, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked what he’s seen from Los Angeles’ defense thus far and how it feels to know teams are prepping their rosters for him specifically.
“I mean not just me. We have great quarterbacks in this division in general so you saw everybody in this division get pass rushers so they can get out there and get after the quarterback and make it hard on us,” Mahomes explained. But (Chargers OLB) Khalil (Mack) is a great player. I mean obviously, they have (Chargers OLB Joey) Bosa already with a lot of other guys that go out there and can rush the passer.
“They have a good defense everywhere. They have (Chargers S) Derwin (James Jr.) at safety. I know (Chargers CB) J.C. (Jackson), I don’t know if he’s playing or not, but he’s a great corner and they have other corners that can play as well and linebackers. So, this is a great defense, a great challenge for us early in the season.”
The Chiefs face the Chargers in Week 2 on Thursday, September 15 at 8:15 p.m. CST on Amazon Prime.