By the time Tyreek Hill broke the huddle and jogged toward the line of scrimmage, he was already in mid-sentence. A smile across his face moments after hauling in a 36-yard pass down the sideline, and Hill took an opportunity to make sure his counterpart knew about it.
He and Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey had exchanged trash talk throughout the week. Why stop now?
"It was a fun matchup, man," Hill said after the Chiefs' 30-14 win at Arrowhead Stadium to improve to 5-0. "It was a battle, man. Each play. I had a great time, you know. I learned a lot, you know what I'm saying? I had fun."
The talk started early in the week, with Hill calling Ramsey "all right, I guess" yet "a great player" in the same thought. Ramsey made a point to refer to Hill as a return specialist, "so it's not a wide receiver versus corner matchup, so we can get that out of the way off the bat."
After essentially begging Ramsey to play press coverage in the game, the Chiefs' speedster got his wish. Ramsey, one of the game's elite cornerbacks who rarely misses a chance to remind you he's just that, played a combination of press and zone coverage on Hill. He didn't shadow the Chiefs' top wideout but found himself matched up against him often.
Yes, that includes the 36-yard catch. Ramsey pressured the line of scrimmage on the play, but Hill stuttered to his left to gain a step on Ramsey. It was all speed from there. And Hill rarely loses a foot race. The pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes fell into his lap before his momentum took him out of bounds in Jacksonville territory. Kareem Hunt would punch in a 4-yard touchdown on the drive to put the Chiefs up 30-7.
"I love a challenge," Hill said. "No matter who it is, I always step up to the plate. I'm gonna win some. He's gonna win some."
That was the highlight. But Hill didn't find himself as the focal point of the offense Sunday. He caught four passes for 61 yards. He was targeted seven times, including once when Mahomes overthrew him for his first interception of the season.
On a play early in the first quarter, Ramsey successfully jammed Hill off his route as part of a press coverage package, and then he thoroughly boasted about it afterward. And appropriately so _ it was just what Hill had requested earlier in the week.
Ramsey was burned on just one play essentially and held Hill in check otherwise, but it was the most memorable of the bunch. Such is the life of an NFL cornerback.
"I won the majority of my matchups today," Ramsey said, according to NFL Network. "I'll put it that way."
It ended with recognition of a worthy challenge. Hill and Ramsey greeted each other after the game and shared a brief embrace.
"We both pros," Hill said. "That's what it's about."
