Arrowhead Pride
As the Kansas City Chiefs look for answers during a stretch of narrow losses that has them fighting for their playoff lives, All-Pro center Creed Humphrey — who has been a rock in the middle of a Kansas City offensive line — remains one of the team’s stalwarts.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is among those who can recognize a leader when he sees one.
“Yeah, he’s a leader, man,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s someone that knows what it takes in order to go out there and have success — and he pushes other guys to match that level. [He’s] a great person, a great football player and a great leader on this team. I’m glad that’s the guy [who is] going to lead on the offensive line.”
Head coach Andy Reid sees it, too.
“Well, [he’s an] All-Pro,” Reid reminded his listeners during Wednesday’s press briefing. “[That’s] helpful. He’s a great player there — and a great person. [He’s] stable. So you’re going to get the same thing every day — and he’s going to prep the same way every day. He’s dirty-tough and strong. [He’s] smart.”
Humphrey recognizes the situation in which the team now finds itself.
“We’re close,” Humphrey said. “A couple plays here and there each game, and things would be different. So for us, it’s just making sure we’re coming in with the right mindset every day — doing everything, one meeting at a time, one walkthrough at a time, one practice at a time. [We’re] making sure we’re getting everything we can out of each day — and improving each day.”
Reminded that things “just aren’t syncing” on the field, Humphey said that it’s part of his job to remind his teammates to stay the course.
“I think it’s huge,” he noted. “Like I said, all the games have been close. It’s a few plays here and there and we’d be looking at different results. So for us, it’s just about making sure we’re coming in and being consistent and executing when we need to execute.”
As Kansas City begins a five-game stretch in which it must stack wins to keep its playoff hopes alive, the team’s success will come from consistency and discipline. It will be leaning on players like Humphrey to set the standard.
