The Kansas City Chiefs put together an effort on Thursday night that nobody who roots for the team will ever forget. I can’t speak for you, but I woke up multiple times last night thinking about it, knowing it will be replayed for years whenever these two teams meet. It was absolutely brutal.
However, there was some light in the dark. It got lost toward the end of the game because of what a disgrace the Chiefs are in big moments, but Marcus Peters is going to be an All-Pro at some point in his career. There are the rare players that when you watch them, you immediately know the kid is going to be great.
Kansas City has enjoyed a few such players over the years, including Derrick Thomas and Eric Berry. It didn’t take long to look at them and realize that greatness was rapidly approached. Despite the loss on Thursday, Peters put the rest of the NFL on notice. He was charged with the impossible task of guarding Demaryius Thomas by himself and was excellent, defending four passes and taking an interception back for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Over at Pro Football Focus, he was graded out at +3.2. That is a huge number regardless of who you are playing, let alone going against Thomas in primetime.
If there was anything that gives me hope after that debacle we just witnessed, it is that this defense is already terrific, and it is going to be downright terrifying when Sean Smith comes back. Imagine if Smith plays in the place of Jamell Fleming last night. The game is not even close, including five turnovers.
This is a rough moment for the Chiefs, but all hope is not lost. If nothing else, we learned that general manager John Dorsey hit the lottery with Peters.