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For the second straight week, the Kansas City Chiefs will be without superstar defensive lineman Chris Jones.
The game-wrecker was downgraded to “out” on the Week 6 injury report on October 15, ending any chance of Jones returning in time to face the Washington Football Team. Needless to say, this is a major blow for a Chiefs defensive unit that has been putrid in 2021.
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Chiefs Elevate Familiar Face
With Jones sidelined, general manager Brett Veach decided to call on defensive end Demone Harris, who’s been a part of the Kansas City system since the 2019 season that ended in a championship. This week, the Chiefs elevated the pass-rusher from the practice squad ahead of Week 6.
Harris has only accumulated seven tackles through his first three NFL campaigns, with two tackles for a loss and two quarterback pressures. He’s played 10 defensive snaps up to this point in 2021 according to Pro Football Focus, with a run defense grade of 64.6 and a pass-rush grade of 53.9.
The defensive end’s longest stint was in 2019, logging 170 defensive snaps over 5 games with the Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During that span, Harris’ strength was his run defense (57.6), although his PFF marks weren’t great all around.
For any fans that were hoping Veach found a solution for Jones’ absence, this certainly isn’t it. The Kansas City D-line was run over in Week 5 with zero sacks and one quarterback hit, and Harris won’t change that.
Defensive end Frank Clark did get to Josh Allen once, forcing an interception, but the play was called back for a roughing the passer penalty. Washington has its own problems on the offensive side with a plethora of injuries including G Brandon Scherff and OT Sam Cosmi on the O-line, which provides an opportunity for the Chiefs defense to bounce back against WFT.
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Chiefs Injury List
Jones isn’t the only man out for the Chiefs. Cornerback Charvarius Ward will miss his fourth straight game on Sunday due to a quad injury and tight end Blake Bell is sidelined with a back issue.
That means Steve Spagnuolo will most likely continue to roll with some combination of Rashad Fenton, L’Jarius Sneed and Mike Hughes in the secondary with Jody Fortson and Noah Gray as the primary backups behind Travis Kelce.
Three key players were also listed as questionable on Friday’s report, including wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Guard Joe Thuney and linebacker Anthony Hitchens are also questionable, but the O-lineman is expected to play based on his track record. Thuney has never missed a game during his six-year career.
The other two look like gameday decisions at this point. With all of the injuries on each side, this could be a battle of attrition on Sunday as Patrick Mahomes goes up against Chase Young and a ferocious Washington pass rush.
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