The Kansas City Chiefs have serious help on the way
By Matt Conner
Steven Nelson
The secondary has held up remarkably well for the Chiefs given the circumstances. The team lost Eric Berry in Week 1 and lost Steven Nelson in the preseason. Between the two of them, they are two of the primary 5 or 6 players in the defensive backfield. Somehow the Chiefs have come together to mitigate those losses and have held the back of the defense together enough to keep the winning streak alive.
Given the injuries, it’s been impressive to see guys like Daniel Sorensen and Terrance Mitchell step up like they have to help blitz the quarterback and create turnovers. Sorensen in particular plays like a man possessed and is the team’s most physical player. With Marcus Peters’ dominance and Ron Parker’s talent and versatility, the unit has held together just fine.
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Fortunately Nelson should be coming back in the next few weeks. The original word was that core surgery was going to keep Nelson out for 6 to 8 weeks, so now that K.C. is entering the second quarter of the year, it’s time to plan on Nelson’s return.
As good as Mitchell has been there have still been some points of struggle and Phillip Gaines has looked lost at times as well. Having Nelson re-enter the fray to help provide quality snaps and further competition will work wonders on a pass defense that’s doing its best to hold the pieces together.