5 Kansas City Chiefs who helped themselves most in the regular season finale

4. Several Young Defensive Ends and Defensive Backs

This one may be a cop out, but there were a ton of young pass rushers and defensive backs that I felt like deserved a mention, but it was really hard to to rank which ones should be ahead of each other for a list like this. I don't know if any of these players had games so big that it will change their future, but I saw encouraging things from all of them.

On the defensive front, Felix Anudike-Uzomah flashed a few times and had a couple of tackles for loss. It was enough to make me think he'll have a bigger role as a situational pass rusher next season. Across from him, Malik Herring had a solid day too. He ended up with five tackles, a sack, and a batted-down pass. Even BJ Thompson, who we knew was a long-term project, flashed on a few plays in limited playing time.

While not a defensive end, I'd also give a little shout-out to Neil Farrell who has not been able to get on the field before Sunday after the Chiefs traded a 6th-round pick for him earlier this season. He ended up with a sack and a batted-down pass and was moving his blocker backward on multiple plays. I doubt we see him in the playoffs, but maybe this game was a sign that he can earn a spot in the rotation next year.

On the back end of the defense, K.C. continued to show promising young depth in their secondary. Jaylen Watson had 8 tackles and 2 passes defended, including a great breakup in the end zone early in the game. Chamarri Conner looked very good as well. He was all over the field and racked up 8 tackles, though he left the game temporarily with a potential head injury. Even Nic Jones saw some playing time for the first time in this one and ended up with 3 tackles, including 1 tackle for a loss.

The Chiefs have had one of the NFL's best defenses this season and with how their young depth looked in this game it certainly looks like K.C. could continue to be a defensive force for years to come. If nothing else, it was a positive sign that they have quality depth for the playoffs should any of their bigger names miss any time.

Now let's get to the three individuals that stuck out the most in this game.