Kansas City Chiefs: Dee Ford and Justin Houston Swap Places Vs Broncos
By Joel Wagler
With Dee Ford out, the Kansas City Chiefs need Justin Houston to return to form against the Denver Broncos.
The Kansas City Chiefs will be without the services of NFL sack leader, Dee Ford, Sunday night in Denver against the Broncos, according to The Kansas City Star. Ford is tied for first in sacks with ten, despite missing most of the game against Tampa Bay last week.
The Chiefs have to hope that former NFL sack leader Justin Houston is fully recovered from his knee injury. They will need a healthy Houston against the Broncos.
It is just bad timing that Ford got hurt about the time Houston is returning to full strength. Kansas City needs more from their pass rush.
The defense allowed Jamies Winston to go practically untouched in the pocket last week after Ford left the game.
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It will be a beat up squad that travels to the Mile High City this week. Not only is Ford out, but Jaye Howard and Jeremy Maclin are also out. There is a chance that Marcus Peters, Dontari Poe, Steve Nelson, and Derrick Johnson could miss the key AFC West match-up.
The Chiefs need Justin Houston to be 100 percent. Tamba Hali is certainly in the twilight of his career and isn’t anywhere near as effective as he was in his prime.
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Houston is on a tough road, trying to fully recover from his knee injury, and get into full game shape. He hasn’t been a factor in this first two games of the season.
The KC Chiefs need help from their defensive line. Youngsters Chris Jones and Rakeem Nunez-Roches need to step up and have big games. They both had some big plays against the Buccaneers last week but showed their inexperience at times.
If Poe can play and be effective, and if Jones and Nunez-Roches can apply pressure in the pass rush, the Chiefs should be able to disrupt the Broncos’ offense.
If not, Bob Sutton needs to do something to apply pressure on the quarterback. Maybe an occasional safety blitz could help. It didn’t seem as if Sutton made any adjustments against Tampa Bay, and Winston looked incredibly comfortable in the pocket.
This game in Denver may test the depth John Dorsey as accumulated. The NFL season can be a long grind, and all teams have weeks where they are not very healthy. The good teams overcome the injuries with solid backup players. Some guys need to step up this week if the Chiefs have any hope of beating Denver.
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The game could be a huge factor in how the AFC West plays out. The Kansas City Chiefs need to pick up a win that maybe folks didn’t haven’t them winning, to make up for lat week’s debacle at home.
The Broncos defense is fantastic, so Alex Smith and the offense will need to improve and be mistake-free in Denver. This should be an exciting game. Hopefully, injuries won’t cost the Chiefs a win.