Kansas City Chiefs: Eric Berry out for the rest of 2017 season
The Kansas City Chiefs stunned the defending champion New England Patriots on Thursday night, but it came at a price. Safety Eric Berry will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured Achilles.
The excitement over the Kansas City Chiefs‘ thrilling victory against the New England Patriots ended sooner than fans wanted it to. It was announced on Friday afternoon that Eric Berry would be out for the rest of the season with a ruptured Achilles, an injury he sustained in the fourth quarter against the Patriots.
The injury looked similar to Derrick Johnson‘s in 2014 and 2016, going down to the ground without contact and being unable to move. Chiefs fans knew right away that it was serious, as Berry had to be carted off the field and did not return to the game or even to the sidelines.
Beating New England was a hell of a way to start the season, but man… Not having Eric Berry out there with the Chiefs defense is a crucial blow to this team. We’ve seen just how good this defense was with everyone finally back together, and now it’ll be short lived, as Berry is out for the 2017 season.
#Chiefs coach Andy Reid confirms the fears: Star safety Eric Berry is done for the season with a ruptured Achilles.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 8, 2017
This is a crushing loss for the Chiefs, who rely on Berry to lead their defense. Berry singlehandedly won the Chiefs their game against the Falcons last year and helped tremendously against the Panthers a season ago as well. He’s a difference maker, and that’s why Kansas City gave him a big contract this offseason.
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Before he went down, Berry did a phenomenal job covering Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who ended the night with only two catches for 33 yards. Any time Gronk can be limited to those type of numbers, the guy (or guys) covering him is doing their job.
Even with the loss of Berry, however, Chiefs fans shouldn’t panic. They still have Ron Parker, who led the team in tackles on Thursday night with 11. Daniel Sorensen is also an underrated member of this Chiefs defense and he stepped up big time a season ago. These two will fill in for Berry along with Eric Murray, who the team has been grooming as a safety for several years now.
Seeing Justin Houston and Eric Berry back on the field together at the same time was fun in the short few hours it lasted, but now, the Chiefs will look to “replace” Berry until the 2018 season. Here’s to hoping for a speedy recovery for Berry! We’re all pulling for you!