Four stellar defensive standouts from Chiefs vs. Seahawks
By Matt Conner
Let’s look at some true defensive standouts from the Kansas City Chiefs win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16.
On a Saturday afternoon in which Travis Kelce set new career marks, Patrick Mahomes made some jaw-dropping plays, and Isiah Pacheco made his case for even more touches, it was actually the defense of the Kansas City Chiefs that earned the lion’s share of attention in Week 16. After all, the near-flawless performance by the unit is what allowed K.C. to roll over the visiting Seattle Seahawks in a 24-10 victory.
The Chiefs picked up their 12th win on Saturday, against only 3 losses, with a strong defensive effort against Geno Smith and the Seahawks offense. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had a tremendous game plan, and his players executed on every level. It was the sort of inspired performance that fans have been wanting to see from them for some time and it’s heartening to see with the postseason so close.
While the offensive players deserve their time in the spotlight, we thought we’d look at a few defensive players who merit a mention for their performance on Saturday.
Willie Gay Jr.
In recent weeks, the usage of Willie Gay Jr. has been a bit of a head-scratcher. In some regards he has struggled in coverage, especially against some lesser opponents, and the miscues have hurt the Chiefs. At the same time, there’s not a single linebacker on the Chiefs who can match his athleticism or overall skill set and his recent pick-six shows exactly how impactful he can be at any given time.
Despite that, however, Spags has insisted on getting Darius Harris more playing time in the last few games because he’s apparently a coaching favorite—which is fine—but when that sort of playing time comes to the detriment of someone so clearly gifted to play football, that becomes a real problem.
On Saturday, it was nice to see Gay making his case to play as many reps as possible and to remind Spags and company that you can’t keep his kind of talent off of the field. Gay was in the backfield making stops. He was shedding blockers to stop the run. He also had two pass deflections and was generally a dynamite player in all respects against the Seahawks.
Gay might, on occasion, struggle to cover his man or give up the big play, but the Chiefs should roll with Gay nonetheless as often as they can put him on the field. There’s nothing worth trading his presence out there for someone less talented because the upside can simply make far too great of a difference in the ultimate outcome.