L’Jarius Sneed set for his toughest challenge on the Chiefs yet

Add as preferred source on Google

Monday Night Football may be the toughest test yet for the KC secondary.

There are dozens of storylines to follow when the Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in their next encounter.

From a Super Bowl rematch, the revenge game, the return engagement of the Kelce Bowl, Patrick Mahomes vs Jalen Hurts, and Andy Reid against his former team, Monday’s matchup has infinite potential plotlines to discuss.

One story we should be focused on for this game is how the Chiefs’ secondary can stop Eagles receiver A.J. Brown if at all.

A nightmare to defend

Defending Philly’s top receiving threat will be a challenge, to say the least.

Brown’s made mincemeat out of opposing secondaries to this point of the season.

The New York Jets are one of the best at defending the pass, allowing 169.3 passing yards per game.

However, Brown had seven grabs for 131 yards against them, averaging 18.7 yards per catch on that day.

At the moment Brown is averaging 111.7 yards per game through the air with 1,005 yards altogether, second behind Tyreek Hill (1,076).

He’s played the Chiefs twice in the regular season, posting nine catches for 150 yards and one score with the Tennessee Titans, while he had six catches for 96 yards and a TD in last year’s Super Bowl.

133 of those yards came in a single game.

Brown has found the end zone in three straight games for the Eagles this season.

Sneed’s moment of truth

Defending the pass is one of the many things that Kansas City have excelled at throughout 2023.

They’re the only team to contain Tyreek Hill this year, holding him to 7.8 yards per catch in Germany.

Keenan Allen only had four catches versus KC’s pass coverage, and last year’s leading receiver, Justin Jefferson, only caught three passes for 28 yards.

It’s likely to be L’Jarius Sneed’s job to try to keep Brown in check on Monday night.

After nine games this season, the Chiefs corner has defended six passes, with one fumble recovery, registering 41 tackles.

Versus the league’s top offensive unit in Miami, Sneed did not allow a single passing yard against him.

Quarterbacks who try to pick on Sneed have not fared well, with the Chiefs corner allowing a mere 54.9 rating in 2023.

Through nine games this season, Brown’s unquestionably the top target for Hurts, with DeVonta Smith in a distant second for receiving yards for the Eagles at 533.

Dallas Goedert is out with an injury, so Brown is likely to get a lot of the targets early and often.

While Hurts is a leading MVP candidate, leading the Eagles to an 8-1 mark, he’s prone to make a mistake now and again.

So far in 2023, Hurts has tossed eight interceptions, one fewer than his highest total in a single NFL campaign in 2021.

For Sneed, this is an opportunity to grab the spotlight and show once again that he’s All-Pro material and a top-notch pass defender.