The Indianapolis Colts referred to Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles as “public enemy No. 1” heading into the teams’ Week 16 matchup.
The feelings are still the same for the Colts.
According to ESPN.com, the Colts want to quiet and shut down Charles this weekend when the two teams meet in an epic playoff matchup.
“We called him public enemy No. 1 and he still is,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said Tuesday. “[He totaled] 1,900-plus yards from scrimmage. First and foremost, that’s the guy that you’ve got to take away.”
Charles was somewhat bottled up by the Colts in their first meeting, but didn’t question the Chiefs gameplan that time, and won’t this game either.
“I never question the game plan,” Charles said Tuesday. “I know it’s going to be a load on me this week.”
“If you just look at his numbers, 13 touches in the run game for 106 yards, you would have to say if I was Coach [Andy] Reid and the rest of your staff, I would say — especially in an environment if it’s going to be loud and the game warrants that you can stick with the run — I’m sure we’re going to see Jamaal,” Pagano said. “If he doesn’t touch the ball 30 times, I’d be shocked.”
Said Charles, who was third in the league with 1,287 rushing yards and had 70 catches for 693 yards: “Oh yeah, running the ball is always a good thing to do. But at the end of the day, we know they’re going to try their hardest to stop the run. You stop the run, you beat the Chiefs.”