Chiefs' Smith-Schuster credits Call of Duty for win over 49ers

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Oftentimes athletes credit the strong camaraderie that develops within a team with the time that is spent bonding off the playing field. 

That's what happened for the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night which translated into an explosive offense performance that was hard to break down. 

After the Chiefs' win over the 49ers in Week 7,  wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster revealed the team's secret weapon that goes beyond the workouts quarterback Patrick Mahomes hosted during the offseason: Call of Duty.

“Oh man, you want to talk about chemistry and trust,” Smith-Schuster said. “So, we start off in Dallas, you know we worked out there. . . We came back here, worked out at camp, built that chemistry. Obviously, preseason (and) camp, but I’m going to tell you what got us the chemistry that we needed this game. I think it was Friday night — it was me, Pat (Mahomes), Travis (Kelce) and (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) — we were playing Call of Duty: Warzone together. We played three games and we won three games back-to-back.”

Smith-Schuster said the iconic first-person shooting game gave the teammates the opportunity to bond in more profound ways that don't involve football, developing new levels of trust. The 25-year-old says he truly believes connecting with Mahomes on the field has improved through the game.

“And we got off (after the three wins) and we were like, ‘Damn.’ Because it’s really hard to win a game in Warzone,” Smith-Schuster explained. “And you could just like tell because of the communication between all of us and the chemistry, it was like we were in an (NFL) game. . . it kind of just bled into this game. It kind of just showed on the field.”

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While Mahomes is not a big gamer, he said he did feel the experience contributed to the strong performance against the 49ers.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Mahomes said. “When you get away from the facility, you’re doing kid-like things. You’re on the headset, you’re talking, you’re joking around and talking about the week. It kind of gets your mind off of just football and it’s about building those relationships. So it’s definitely cool to see those guys, even if it’s in a game, outside of the facility.”

While the Chiefs have a bye for Week 8 and face the Titans in their next showdown on Nov. 6, it's pretty safe to assume what the squad will be up to in their downtime. 

What is the Chiefs current record?

The Kansas City Chiefs are currently 5-2 through Week 7 and are first in the AFC West heading into their Week 8 bye. 

What is Juju Smith-Schuster contract with the Chiefs?

Juju Smith-Schuster signed a 1-year, $10.75-million contract with the Chiefs on March 20.

When does Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 release?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is scheduled to be released on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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