NO. 21: The Chiefs have their own version of “The Cincinnati Kid.” And all you have to know about Cincinnati and the full-blown rivalry with Kansas City is this:
When the Bengals went to Arrowhead Stadium looking for a playoff spot on New Year’s Eve, the family of Chiefs safety Mike Edwards wasn’t exactly torn.
“They were cheering for me but wanted the Bengals to win,” Edwards recalled this week as he waited for his family to join him at his second Super Bowl.
Before never missing a game at Kentucky, Edwards held the standard for Winton Woods’ powerhouse high school program and grew up liking the Broncos but following the Bengals of Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer.
“Chad, of course. I liked Corey Dillon and Deltha O’Neal,” said Edwards this week of Dillon, the Bengals all-time rusher, and O’Neal, the former Bronco who still holds Cincy’s single-season record with 10 interceptions.
That’s where Edwards comes in as a true ballhawk, a savvy fifth-year vet viewed as one of Chiefs general manager Brett Veach’s shrewd one-year free-agent deals and one of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s valuable chess pieces for the Chiefs’ top-tier defense.
Courtesy of ankle injury to starting safety Bryan Cook at the beginning of December.
“To have a guy step in and do the things Mike has done says a lot about him,” Spagnuolo said. “He’s a real smart football player. A very natural football player. He’s instinctive. If we didn’t have him, we’d be in trouble because Chammari (Conner) is a rookie and it would have been hard, but Mike’s been able to step in and the veterans have a lot of confidence in him.”
If that doesn’t make you think of Bengals slot cornerback Mike Hilton, who also wears No. 21, Edwards’ stat line this season will: One of his eight career interceptions. Five passes defensed. A sack. Two fumble recoveries, one for a 97-yard touchdown return.
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