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With a week of practice under his belt following an injured reserve stint that kept him sidelined for nearly a month, Clyde Edwards-Helaire is seemingly one step closer to taking the field for the Kansas City Chiefs. Andy Reid confirmed this as the team prepares for their Week 11 matchup against the 7-2 Dallas Cowboys.
Reid said during his press conference on Monday, November 15 that Edwards-Helaire has a “better shot this week. Pretty good chance” of being activated from injured reserve.
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CEH Could Be More Productive After IR Stint
Before landing on injured reserve on October 12 due to a knee injury, Edwards-Helaire was experiencing some growing pains at the start of his sophomore campaign. In five games, Edwards-Helaire had 65 rushes for 304 yards (4.67 yards per carry), and also had eight catches for 61 yards and two receiving touchdowns, per Pro Football Reference.
His lack of usage in the passing game, along with inconsistent usage of the run game in general by the Chiefs offense, has caused CEH to regress a bit after a strong rookie campaign and despite a rebuilt offensive line in Kansas City that’s is much improved. That could change when he returns, however, thanks to an identity change for the Chiefs on offense, which was evident in the Week 10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
In the 41-14 victory, Kansas City ran the ball consistently and Patrick Mahomes wasn’t afraid to check down to the running backs in the passing game. That formula led to nine catches, 144 total yards (101 receiving, 43 rushing), and a receiving touchdown for running back Darrel Williams, who has shouldered the workload during CEH’s absence, and done so effectively. So, when the Chiefs’ 2020 first-round pick does return, his receiving skills will be put to very good use.
Chiefs Sit Atop Division Entering Week 11
The win over the Raiders in Week 10 was a big deal for the Chiefs for several reasons, one having to do with their position in the AFC West standings.
Entering the game, Kansas City (5-4) was in third place, with Las Vegas (5-3) in second, the Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) in first, and the Denver Broncos (5-4) in last place. Once that game played out — along with the one game involving Los Angeles and another involving Denver — the Chiefs (6-4) were the only team in the division with a win in Week 10, which leap-frogged them into first place in the AFC West entering Week 11, now above the Chargers (5-4), Raiders (5-4), and Broncos (5-5) in the standings.
With four divisional games still left to play in the regular season — two against the Broncos, one against the Chargers, one against the Raiders — Kansas City is seemingly finally starting to gel on both sides of the football after two months of inconsistent, poor play overall.
The Chiefs — who have a bye week in Week 12 — are preparing to face a Cowboys team coming off a blowout victory of their own. After being blown out by the Denver in Week 10, Dallas came and beat the Atlanta Falcons 43-3 in Week 10. In that game, the Cowboys’ defense forced three turnovers and gave up just 214 total yards of offense, per ESPN’s box score. As for the Dallas offense, they racked up 431 total yards and 37 minutes of possession.
Though a win against a tough division opponent will hopefully keep momentum in Kansas City’s favor, the Chiefs’ game against the Cowboys will be one of the toughest matchups they’ll have the entire season. It’s against Dallas that the defending AFC champions will show Chiefs Kingdom if the 2021 Chiefs are fixed, or if they just caught some lightning in a bottle in Week 10.
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