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KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs finally allowed Justin Houston to return to the field on Sunday against Arizona, and the second Pro Bowl second rider played a decisive role in the quarter-final selection. Jardin Rosen des Cardinals on a pass in the second half of the screen.
The leaders also found Daniel Sorensen safe, from the injured reserve where he had resided since his leg fracture at training camp, and he made five tackles while ensuring a hard-hitting presence.
It may not be surprising that the Chiefs' defense played the best of the season.
With two of their starters expected back on the field, the Chiefs limited the Cardinals to 260 yards in a 26-14 win. They fired Rosen five times, intercepted him twice and even managed to keep David Johnson within 100 yards – barely.
"I have the impression that the first two weeks were too painful," said linebacker Reggie Ragland. "We're having fun with that, whatever happens, it happens, it's football, we've been playing this game for far too long so we can not have fun with it." a kid's game and we're adult men playing it, so have fun with that, do not worry about it. "
The Chiefs (9-1) looked like they were going to the ball Sunday.
Dee Ford had his ninth bag of the season, not to mention three tackles for a loss and four hits on Rosen. Allen Bailey had his fifth bag while Chris Jones had two more to give him a career high of seven for the season, including at least one bag in six straight games.
All in all, Rosen was hit 13 times and escaped once when he had only 208 yards and a score.
"What we are doing right now is that we are downplaying the big games," said defensive tackle Jarvis Jenkins. "It's something we all play on, it's minimizing the big games, and then getting them one-dimensional so we can jostle the passer, I think we did that game."
Cincinnati was the only game where the defense played as well. The Chiefs allowed 239 yards in a 45-10 rout. But it's often easier to play a stingy defense when the game went out of control, and on Sunday the Chiefs had to show up in a match that Arizona had managed to keep relatively tight.
"It happened a few times now, things stopped (in attack), then they were competitive and played," said Chiefs Coach Andy Reid. "It's a good thing, we need that as a football team, we need it, it's important."
Especially considering the following position: The Chiefs will travel to Mexico City to face the Los Angeles Rams Monday night in a match between two of the NFL's most dynamic offenses.
The Rams are second in yards per game and the Chiefs are third. These rankings are reversed when it comes to scoring, with Kansas second and Los Angeles third.
In other words, it is the right moment for the defended defense of the leaders to begin to manifest themselves.
They can always go much better too. Linebacker Anthony Hitchens was out on Sunday with bruised ribs. Linebacker Frank Zombo missed the match due to a thigh injury, giving unenrolled rookie Ben Niemann the opportunity to start his first game in the NFL.
"I was still in four phases of special teams," said Niemann, "so I'm a little tired, but it was good.You want to play.You want to play as many cliches as possible . "
Someone else who wants to play? Eric Berry, the chief safety officer of the Chiefs, who still has not played since he's torn the Achilles tendon during the opening game of the season last. Berry practiced all summer and at the training camp, but a heel injury prevented him from staying on the ground for months.
The Chiefs' defense would have another chance to come back to power in any capacity.
"Sooner or later, the defense needs to intensify," said Jenkins. "It's part of being a team, you can not be one-dimensional, I think the feeling we have now is that it's a good team." It was not good (Sunday) but we did it – that's what we have to do. "
Notes: Reid said Monday that he was not concerned about the ground conditions at the Azteca stadium, where the combination of concerts and football matches destroyed the pitch. "I saw it," said Reid, "but I think the NFL is above, they do a great job with all that." … Reid said he was not expecting Patrick Mahomes to miss the practice after the sudden death of his girlfriend's father-in-law on Sunday. The chiefs are on leave on Tuesday and Wednesday. "He is here this morning and he has put things in place, organized and settled," says Reid, "so that he can do what he has to do here."
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.
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