With Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna out for Sunday’s game at the San Francisco 49ers, opportunity presents itself for Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
Danna is dealing with a pectoral strain and will miss his second game. He also sat out the Chiefs’ victory at the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4 with a calf injury.
When he’s healthy, Danna starts with George Karlaftis on the other side. Malik Herring and Anudike-Uzomah have provided the depth.
Karlaftis leads the position group in playing time this season, taking 84% of the snaps. Danna is next at 56%, followed by Anudike-Uzomah at 26% and Herring at 15%. Cam Thomas, acquired by the Chiefs in an offseason trade with the Arizona Cardinals, also figures to see more playing time.
But teammates are perhaps most eager to see Anudike-Uzomah, the former Lee’s Summit High and Kansas State standout, get his shot.
“I said it during training camp,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “Felix is playing some really good ball. He’s coming into himself. And I think that happens with repetition. … We continue to demand better out of him, and he’s taking it well.”
Anudike-Uzomah turned in one of his biggest plays of his rookie year in February’s Super Bowl, dropping San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey for a 4-yard loss.
The Chiefs and 49ers meet again Sunday in a rematch of Super Bowl LVIII (kickoff 3:25 p.m. Central on FOX). This marks the 10th time Super Bowl opponents will have met in the regular season the following year.
The good news for the Chiefs is that the Super Bowl champs are 6-3 in such matchups. The bad news? Two of those losses belong to the Chiefs: last season against the Philadelphia Eagles and in 1970 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Here are some other players to watch in this weekend’s game:
Chiefs player to watch: LT Wanya Morris
Mahomes has had happy feet at times this season. Part of the reason for that is that he sees the pocket collapsing from the outside.
Morris, who took over the position from rookie Kingsley Suamataia in Week 3, has been an upgrade. But the Chiefs are looking for more consistency from the second-year pro.
The KC offensive line overall is having a solid season. Center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith are at the top of their game.
The Chiefs’ passing game figures to improve if Morris and Jawaan Taylor can provide Mahomes some more time to throw. Can that happen this week as Morris goes up against 49ers star Nick Bosa?
49ers player to watch: TE George Kittle
The Chiefs have been excellent against the run — and especially against the opponent’s featured running back.
Against tight ends? Not so much. The Chiefs are last in the NFL, surrendering 82 receiving yards per game against tight ends. And the 49ers have one of the game’s best in Kittle, who is tied for the league lead in TD receptions (five).
“We need to keep battling, and ultimately make them take the long, hard road,” Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton said.
Special teams player to watch: 49ers kicker
Starting 49ers placekicker Jake Moody is dealing with a high-ankle sprain and didn’t play in last week’s game at Seattle. His replacement, Matthew Wright, connected on all three of his field-goal attempts and three extra points against the Seahawks.
But Wright has a shoulder injury now, so the 49ers have signed Anders Carlson. (If Wright sounds familiar to Chiefs fans, he should: He appeared in two games for KC in 2022 while Harrison Butker was recovering from an injury of his own).
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