Christian McCaffrey Returning Against the Chiefs, Will KC Be Ready?

The Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive challenge against the Carolina Panthers has gotten a little more difficult.

On Friday, Panthers head coach Matt Rhule announced running back Christian McCaffrey is expected to play against the Chiefs on Sunday. McCaffrey has not played since Week 2, when he suffered a high-ankle sprain.

The pending activation changes the Chiefs’ focus from stopping Panthers back-up running back Mike Davis regularly to containing McCaffrey.

“He’s a unique back, obviously we all know that,” Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens said. “He’s a good receiving back, he's a hard-nosed runner out the backfield. He’s one of the better athletes in this league, so we have some things for him.”

Heading into Week 9, the Chiefs are the No. 10 run defense in the NFL, holding opponents to an average of 142.75 yards per game, 4.8 yards per rush and seven touchdowns

The highest rushing performance by an opponent came in Week 4, where the New England Patriots totaled 185 yards, 100 arriving through Damien Harris’ 17 carries.

Harris is the leading rusher against the Chiefs, with Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler and Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs both posting over 90 yards. The three totaled more than the 93 yards the Chiefs gave up to the New York Jets last week.

“We just got to keep improving,” Hitchens said. “I don’t think we are where want to be right now, I think overall in the run game. But, I think overall we’ve seen signs of being great and we’re not giving up many points. I think at the end of the day, that’s how you win games — not letting teams score on you and making them kick field goals instead of touchdowns.”

In his two games pre-injury, McCaffrey totaled 156 yards and four touchdowns off 41 attempts. He also had seven receptions for 67 yards from Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

In total, he averaged 3.8 yards per rush and 9.6 yards per catch. His skill is something Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, previously the offensive coordinator at the University of Colorado, recruited McCaffrey for out of high school.

McCaffrey chose Stanford instead, but Bieniemy said the back is somebody he wants Chiefs rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire to look up to.

“Christian is a great kid who is an outstanding athlete who can do special things when that ball is in his hand,” Bieniemy said. The thing that makes him special is his work ethic.

“I will say this, as far as Clyde picking up things from other players such as Christian, you always want those guys to have a good admiration of all of those different guys that are playing all these different positions in the league that have played at the highest level but have also continued to put that consistent behavior on tape.”

With McCaffrey on the IR, the Panthers went 3-3, the last three games being lost by one possession.

Davis ran for 303 yards and two touchdowns in McCaffrey’s absence and also recorded 170 yards on 30 receptions.

For that reason, the Chiefs’ defensive game plan remains pretty much the same.

“Good for them for having him back, but our game plan didn’t change much,” Hitchens said.