Kansas City vs. Miami: Standouts for the Chiefs’ Defense in Week 14

Easy Day At Hard-Rock for the Chiefs" Defense

With the help of some key performances from players on this Chiefs" defense, Kansas City would pull out a win on the road. Besides the players we all know, such as Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and Tyrann Mathieu, who all played outstanding; here are some other players on the Chiefs" defense who played their tails off.

Great Performances on the Chiefs" Defense

Michael Danna, Edge

Michael Danna is a name most NFL fans may not know, as Kansas City drafted him in the fifth round of this past draft to add to the Chiefs" defense that needs pass rushers. That is precisely what Danna has done, and especially in this last game.

On the Year, Danna has two and a half sacks and five quarterback hits. He has done all of that while also playing no more than 50% of the defensive snaps in any game so far the year.

The 23-year-old EDGE played only 32 defensive snaps on Sunday. In that time, Danna was graded at a 69.5 overall by Pro Football Focus (PFF), which ranks him as an above average defender. PFF also ranked him as a 67.5 run defender and a 73.5 tackle rating. He had zero missed tackles.

With two pressures on the day, Danna got to the quarterback once for a sack, as well as three stops. If the rookie can produce like this in every game, this Chiefs" defense will be a force to be reckoned with.

Tershawn Wharton, DL

Another name that fans may not know is Tershawn Wharton, a rookie who played great on Sunday. Ranked at 79.8 overall by PFF, that puts him as a high-quality defender.

Wharton also ranked at a 75.5 pass-rush grade, and rightfully so with his four pressures and two sacks on the day. During his rookie season with Kansas City, Wharton has added a few critical plays to this Chiefs" defense, most notably a forced fumble against Denver.

This goes to show that general manager Brett Veach is excellent at drafting talent. Both Danna and Wharton are players who were drafted very late or not at all and are making huge impacts on this Chiefs defense. This is critical when you think of the areas that the Chiefs needed to improve after a Superbowl win.

Derrick Nnadi, DL

The third-year player is making an impact on the Chiefs" defense time after time. Against the Dolphins, Nnadi was the highest-rated defensive player in week 14 for the Chiefs with an 81.0 overall.

This was Derrick Nnadi"s third highest-rated game of his career. This season, Nnadi is rated the fourth-best run defender as a defensive lineman, with a total grade of 83.5. In this last game, Nnadi posted an 80.7 run defense grade due to his dominance on the line.

This defensive line is stacked with talent, and the individual statistics show it. However, the overall defense has not played well as a unit.

This team can still repeat, but a dominant Chiefs" defense would certainly help.

The Chiefs" defense did end up hemorrhaging 17 points in the fourth quarter to allow a near comeback. While Miami is not the team they were a year ago, their offense is still not good enough for the Chiefs" defense to enable teams to stay in a game as they did on Sunday. Hopefully, the Chiefs" defense can get their stuff together to help this team repeat as Superbowl champions.

Thanks for reading my article on the standouts of the Chiefs" defense versus during their game with the Miami Dolphins.

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