The Kansas City Chiefs were without linebackers Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill in Week 14 against the Bills. This time around, the Chiefs will have both players available in their divisional round matchup against Buffalo on Sunday.
During a team press conference on Thursday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo explained what Bolton and Tranquill will bring to the defense against Josh Allen and the Bills offense.
“[We have] two mike linebackers on the field,” Spagnuolo explained. “Automatically, you’ve got two guys that can run the show and control things, I think, to be quite honest, when that happens it helps Nick [Bolton], he knows that Drue [Tranquill] can talk to the other half of the line because Drue knows the same exact thing he does. That’s part of the chemistry that I’ve talked about. Those two guys from the chin to the hairline, just the mental aspects of the game are outstanding.”
Spagnuolo feels that both players’ craft and film studying have elevated their play and his coaching simultaneously.
“Both of them, throughout the course of the year will go home at night, will go home at night, will watch tape, they’ll circle back in my office and speak of something that I may or may not have even thought of,” Spagnuolo continued. “They think like that, not every guy does. They are both like that, it’s great to have them on the field at the same time.”
Kansas City is the much healthier team heading into this game against the Bills and will be a much stronger unit this time around with Bolton, Tranquill, and Isiah Pacheco in the lineup.