NFL

Juju Smith-Schuster credits Call of Duty wins for Chiefs' offensive explosion against 49ers

By Sports Desk October 24, 2022

The Kansas City Chiefs' offense fired on all cylinders against a vaunted San Francisco 49ers defense on Sunday, and Juju Smith-Schuster had an interesting explanation for their success.

Kansas City recovered from an early 10-0 hole to prevail in Week 7, the Chiefs exploding and pulling away in the fourth quarter in a 44-23 triumph.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes shredded the Niners for 423 yards and three touchdowns, bouncing back in emphatic fashion after his interception on the Chiefs' first drive set up San Francisco's opening touchdown.

Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling both went over 100 yards receiving and tight end Travis Kelce had 98, while Mecole Hardman found the endzone three times, twice as a rusher and once as a receiver.

San Francisco entered the game as the NFL's top defense, allowing only 255.8 yards per game, and the Chiefs were coming off a Week 6 game in which they were frustrated and held to 20 points in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.

But instead of those point-scoring issues carrying into another tough matchup, the Chiefs found the explosiveness they needed, with Smith-Schuster crediting an online gaming session between Mahomes and his pass-catchers for their devastating display.

"I'm gonna tell you what got us the chemistry when we needed this game," Smith-Schuster told a press conference. 

"So, I think it was Friday night. It was me, Pat, Travis and MVS. We were playing Call of Duty together, we were playing Warzone, and we played three games, and we won three games, back-to-back.

"We got off, and we were like, 'damn'. It's really hard to win a game in Warzone. 

"You could just... the communication between all of us, and then the chemistry? It was like we were in the game. It kind of just led into this game, and it kind of just showed on the field."

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