Felix Anudike-Uzomah is beginning to look like a productive player for the Chiefs

In the Kansas City Chiefs' impressive double-digit win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday to remain undefeated, multiple players stepped up in a big way in the wake of more significant injuries on both sides of the ball for Kansas City. Tight end Noah Gray provided a big boost on offense and wide receiver Mecole Hardman contributed in several facets after veteran receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster went out with a hamstring. However, defensively, Kansas City was terrific against the 49ers offense and that was the main reason Kansas City was able to pull out the win.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw three interceptions, and he looked confused by Steve Spagnuolo's unit in a way we haven't quite seen this year with a Chiefs opponent. Steve Spagnuolo's game plan was to unleash the pass rush and finally get production from defensive ends who'd largely been carried by the presence of Chris Jones throughout the first five weeks of the NFL season. George Karlaftis, who had been relatively quiet to start the season, recorded a sack and forced a bad throw on Brock Purdy that resulted in an interception for rookie safety Jaden Hicks. Even more encouraging, however, was the performance of Chiefs second-year pass rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah.

FAU's performance against San Francisco was a big step in the right direction.

Anudike-Uzomah's clock had begun to tick starting this year as he had a quiet rookie season followed by an underwhelming preseason and first few weeks of this regular season. Kansas City had been banking on Anudike-Uzomah to take a step forward this year to begin with, but with Charles Omenihu still out for the foreseeable future and Mike Danna missing this past Sunday's matchup against the 49ers, Kansas City needed Anudike-Uzomah more than ever.

Fortunately for Kansas City, Anudike-Uzomah stood tall to the task of making an impact and showed some real promise in the team's defensive domination of the 49ers. FAU held up extremely well in the run game and displayed a similar edge-setting ability to what Danna brings when healthy, which allowed the Chiefs' run defense to once again hold a strong running team under 100 yards on the ground. FAU also lined up across 49ers left tackle Trent Williams quite a few times and was able to knife under a few blocks to make a play in the run game. In fact, you may have noticed FAU finding himself in the backfield a lot more over recent weeks.

Furthermore, Anudike-Uzomah is starting to turn up the heat a little more in the pass rush department. He was Kansas City's highest-graded pass rusher against San Francisco according to PFF. FAU recorded a handful of pressures and came very close to recording a sack on multiple occasions. One of FAU's biggest weaknesses apparent in the preseason was his slow speed off the ball, but he seems to have improved his get-off at the line which is leading to more production.

Anudike-Uzomah's combination of strength and speed has also compelled the coaching staff to line him up over the nose guard and rush from the interior. Putting him in this alignment creates a mismatch for the offense, as it allows the Chiefs to move Chris Jones to the edge which we know Kansas City loves to do. 

While Anudike-Uzomah's progression has been a lot slower than most would have liked to this point, he's beginning to show flashes of a player who can give quality snaps and provide versatility that best fits what Kansas City wants to do with the rest of its personnel. FAU's performance against San Francisco was a big step in the right direction and should leave many Chiefs fans very encouraged about where he's at and what he can do going forward.