Marquez Valdes-Scantling Praised for Timely Plays in KC Chiefs’ Win vs. Bills
The Kansas City Chiefs emerged with a win in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs, with most of their contributions coming from expected players. Someone who was an unsung hero of sorts, however, was the same man who delivered in last year's AFC Championship Game.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, one of the most unlikely sources of a big-time game in the 2023-24 season, had a pair of huge plays against the Buffalo Bills.
Kansas City's sixth-year wideout had just two receptions on four targets on Sunday — nothing out of the ordinary. On the other hand, he totaled 62 yards on those catches and both were big-time plays for the offense. Helping spark a pair of touchdown drives, his plays cut deep. Head coach Andy Reid, recognizing that, praised Valdes-Scantling after the game.
"It was great to see Marquez have a game like he did," Reid said. "He's taken a lot of heat, and he just kept hanging in there and came up with some big catches."
Valdes-Scantling's first catch was on the Chiefs' opening play coming out of halftime. On first-and-10, he beat Bills cornerback Taron Johnson down the right sideline and was thrown a trust ball by quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Valdes-Scantling hauled it in, initially only getting one hand on the football. Just five plays later, Kansas City was in the end zone on the heels of a Travis Kelce touchdown.
The second and final catch was a 32-yarder on a classic Mahomes throw from shotgun. The second-and-7 dart was hauled in after beating cornerback Rasul Douglas and with Pro Bowler Micah Hyde making the tackle. That took the Chiefs from the Buffalo 48 to the 16-yard line. Kansas City needed just two more plays to run in a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
On Sunday night, Mahomes indicated that he wasn't surprised by Valdes Scantling's critical plays.
"We've seen MVS in playoff games make a lot of big plays happen," Mahomes said. "No matter what's happened all year long, he's kept the mindset [and] the mentality that he's going to keep working and working for moments like this. He did a great job, made some big-time catches and had a big game."
To say it's been a rough season for Valdes-Scantling would be no understatement. After hauling in 42 passes for 687 yards and two touchdowns during the 2022-23 regular season, he exploded for six more receptions and 116 yards in the AFC title game. In 16 games during this campaign, though, his stats fell all the way to 21 receptions, 315 yards and just one score. Drops and miscommunications littered his film, leading to him becoming the exact opposite of a fan favorite.
Despite his largely underwhelming second year in Kansas City, Valdes-Scantling came through when needed in the Divisional Round. He played a significant role in Mahomes's success on deep passes, with the two-time MVP completing all three of his deep attempts for 84 yards. While it remains to be seen whether the Chiefs will carry Valdes-Scantling's nearly $14M cap hit into next season, they're maintaining trust in him right now. For Mahomes, that's the only way to keep going.
"I've got trust in 11, man," Mahomes said. "He comes to work every single day and even though he's gotten some hate from outside the building, we trust him and love him here. We know he's going to make big plays whenever his number is called, and he did that today in a big game. We're going to try to carry that momentum into next week."
