Staley Da Bear
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Bears LB Nick Kwiatkoski vs. Chiefs TE Travis Kelce
In his increased role this season, Kwiatkoski has proven that he is a complete linebacker, defying his early-career reputation as a run-stopper who would struggle in pass coverage. Coach Matt Nagy saw improvement in the fourth-year player early on this season.
“I think we felt that early on with Kwit in training camp,” said Nagy. “He came in in really good shape. You could see him flying around. You noticed it in preseason, training camp, and then when he had that opportunity against the Vikings, you felt it there against a team that runs the ball a lot. So probably that’s the biggest place is just being able to cover backs out of the backfield, because we all know he can play the run game really well.”
Kwiatkoski will face his most daunting task of the season in Kelce. The five-time Pro Bowler has 86 catches on the season for 1,131 yards and four touchdowns. Whether getting the ball from Alex Smith or Mahomes, Kelce is the focal point of the Chiefs offense. Few people know that better than his old offensive coordinator Nagy.
While Kelce’s size and speed jump out, it was the tight end’s improvisational nature that sticks out in Nagy’s mind.
“I really enjoyed watching him grow in route running, on the field and in practice,” Nagy said. “He ended up putting his own little flavor on certain routes. So it might be drawn a certain way in the playbook, but he does it a little bit different, and it works. So that’s a Kelce route. That's Kelce doing his thing.”
Bears WR Anthony Miller vs. Chiefs CB Bashaud Breeland
Miller has emerged late in the year to be one of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s top weapons. After shaking off a slow start to the season, Miller has now accounted for 50 catches for 649 yards and two touchdowns.
Miller has been so good that defenses have been less able to key in on his counterpart Allen Robinson II, who carried the team’s passing game for the first half of the season.
Miller will likely be covered by a combination of Breeland, Charvarious Ward and Kendall Fuller, the younger brother of Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller. In the past month, Miller has proven a knack for wiggling free of coverage as well as catching passes thrown through tight windows.
Breeland matches up well with Miller in terms of speed and size. While not necessarily known as a ballhawk, he has notched a pick-six in each of the past three seasons.