If it sounds weird, it isn’t. At least not in Kansas City.
Apparently, in preparing for the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills this Sunday, defensive linemen are training with a large picture of Josh Allen on their dummies for drills. It must be some sort of familiarity/visualization technique or something.
If I were going against Josh Allen, the least-sacked quarterback in the NFL this season, I’d be looking for any potential advantage to get him to the ground as well.
This isn’t new for the Chiefs. They frequently do things like this, especially in preparing for the Senior Bowl. Defensive linemen, for example, will practice with pictures of opposing offensive linemen on the dummies, and the offensive linemen will do the same.
In a game of this magnitude, where the two teams are so familiar (this is the ninth meeting between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, and their fourth time squaring off in the playoffs in the last five years), the two sides could be looking for every microscopic advantage that they could find.
Allen in particularly is a tough customer in the playoffs. So far in his two playoff games this year, Allen has yet to commit a turnover, and he consistently boosts his production when the games matter most.
Including this year’s two playoff games, Allen has now played in 12 postseason contests. In those games, he is averaging 260.2 passing yards per game, has thrown for 23 touchdowns, and only has four interceptions. Allen also averages 52.4 rushing yards per playoff game and has added seven scores on the ground.
The Chiefs defense will undoubtedly have their hands full. Maybe putting his face on a pad will be the only time some of them successfully hit Allen this week.
