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In their Week 16 game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Kansas City Chiefs had to rely on their defense to hold on to the 17-14 victory that took the AFC’s first seed.
Since starting linebackers Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson were unavailable – Hitchens was on the reserve / COVID list and Wilson was injured – the Chiefs knew they would have to rely more on Ben Niemann to call up defensive plays and line up everyone correctly.
But in the second quarter, Niemann left the match with an injury.
“It was a bit hectic there,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo admitted to reporters Thursday, “but I’ll tell you what: Matt House and Britt Reid are doing a good job of getting these guys ready. We knew it could happen.
Spagnuolo was referring to three rookie linebackers: second-round pick Willie Gay Jr. and undrafted players Omari Cobb and Darius Harris. The defensive coordinator said Harris – technically still a rookie because he had spent all of last season in the injured reserve – had spent this year to good effect, which helped him don the helmet with the green dot and to play a role he didn’t have. exercised.
“He practiced all week with the SAM linebacker because we expected Ben to be MIKE,” Spagnuolo said, “and then all of a sudden he had to change. But he put in a lot of time to things. Last year – while on the injured reserve – he spent a lot of time learning. I think he performed pretty well. From a control standpoint, he did a really good job with that; that’s what the MIKE linebacker needs to do.
Spagnuolo also praised Gay, who had a higher percentage of shots on Sunday than he has had in any game this season.
“What Willie does is he plays fast,” noted Spagnuolo. “He’s playing fast and he’s physical – and that’s what you want in your linebackers. [But] there’s still a learning curve here – I think that’s true for anyone in this position especially the first year. And again, I go back to not having the offseason and so on, but we’re catching up with it. He’s definitely going to see a lot of football now – and that’s a good thing for him.
Since Hitchens remains on the reserve / COVID roster – and even if they are ready to play, the Chiefs would be likely to rest Wilson and Niemann against the Chargers – Harris and Gay are expected to see plenty of playing time on Sunday. Since they had one of the best defense performances of the season against the Falcons, Spagnuolo should be happy to put them on the pitch against a Los Angeles side that nearly toppled the Chiefs in Week 2.
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