The NFL has dished out fines for illegal actions that took place in Week 7, and Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was the recipient of one of them.
Sneed was fined $5,214 for a hit to Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s head in Kansas City’s 27-3 loss in Week 7, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
During the game, Sneed was not penalized for the hit, and on that same play an interception occurred and the turnover stood despite what is now considered an illegal hit.
#Chiefs LB Willie Gay intercepts Ryan Tannehill to put a stop to Tennessee’s drive. #ChiefsKingdom
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Sneed Having Sophomore Slump
As a fourth-round draft pick by Kansas City in 2020, Sneed had a strong rookie campaign. He recorded seven passes defended, three interceptions, and allowed just a 53.4 passer rating on throws in his direction during his first year in the NFL, per PFF. However, Sneed has not had the same type of success during his sophomore season.
Through seven games this season, he has allowed a 145.1 passer rating on throws in his direction and has a 44.4 coverage grade by PFF, which ranks sixth-worst among all cornerbacks graded by the analytics company. Sneed’s poor play in 2021 is part of the reason why the Chiefs are 28th in the league in total passing yards allowed (1,930) and 26th in passing yards per game allowed (275.7), according to ESPN.
Spags on Giants, Daniel Jones
In Week 8, the defending AFC champions take on the New York Giants, who are coming off a big 25-3 win over the Carolina Panthers. Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo spoke about Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who is New York’s leading rusher through seven games.
“So, most of the teams in this league are figuring out that if you’ve got a quarterback that can beat you with his feet as well as throwing it, it can become a lot tougher to defend,” Spags explained. “This guy’s athletic and yet he can stand back there and be the prototypical sit-on-the-spot, fire the ball downfield. He makes all the throws, and when his offensive coordinator calls for him to run it or something we do different dictates that he has to run, he’s really pretty good for a big, tall 6’5” guy.
“We haven’t played him obviously in the time he’s been, and this is the first time, but I remember seeing highlights when he was a rookie and the past couple years. I will tell you this, he’s fearless runner. I saw him put his head down in the Atlanta game, he did it in Dallas, and then he made a great catch in the Carolina game— he saw it and took a hit. So, I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
As early as it is in the season, the game against the Giants feels like a must-win situation for the Chiefs. Sitting a 3-4 on the season and in third place in the AFC West, Kansas City needs to start stringing together wins if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. Because of that, the Chiefs need to bring their best performance of the season in prime time against New York.
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Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed in Hot Water Over Unpenalized Hit in Week 7