Chiefs Defense Should Be Able To Dominate Sam Darnold

The Kansas City Chiefs are watching tape of the Denver Broncos’ win over the Seattle Seahawks last Thursday, and they have to like what they see. The Broncos capitalized on a team with no running game that was already one dimensional, and they applied a pass rush that turned quarterback Sam Darnold into a turnover puddle. 

The Chiefs don’t have that kind of pass rush right now, but they do have a different advantage. Kansas City has two tough physical cornerbacks in Mansoor Delane and Nohl Williams, and they have a good chance to control Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who tore up the Broncos defense and became a one-man gang at receiver. 

The Delane vs. Smith-Njigba matchup should be fascinating if the Chiefs choose to go there. It would be the ultimate test of the talented rookie, but the Chiefs will probably bracket the Seattle receiver given how one-dimensional the Seahawks already are. 

The Chiefs will also hit Smith-Njigba early and often, and they’ll likely be willing to take some holding penalties in the secondary vs. allowing the receiver to run free and get his trademark yards after the catch. 

As far as Darnold is concerned, this will be a good test of the Chiefs pass rush. They broke a streak of three straight games without a sack against the Chargers when they finally got home in the second half, but that’s not exactly a huge accomplishment given the state of the Chargers offense right now. 

The Broncos were able to apply a pass rush in part because they were playing at home, but Kansas City will be trying to get home on the road in one of the toughest environments in the league. 

Rest assured, though, the potential to turn Darnold into a wreck is there. He looks lost without a running game, and right now Smith-Njigba is his only viable target. It will be interesting to see what Seattle does to try and score points given how much difficulty they had doing that against the Broncos.

The big story line for this one will be Kenneth Walker III, and that could play into Kansas City’s defensive approach as well. The Chiefs may try and play ball control with Walker to control the clock and the pace of the game, but the secondary story line with Darnold is also one to watch. 

Edge rusher R Mason Thomas is one specific player to look for, as he’s gotten home just once in five games. But defensive tackler Chris Jones is another, as he doesn’t have a sack so far and the Chiesf would love to see him break through and dispel the narrative that he's in decline.