The Kansas City Chiefs’ defense provided dominating pressure in their AFC Divisional victory over the Houston Texans. Defensive end George Karlaftis led the pressure, with three sacks of Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud didn’t want to accept all the praise during his postgame press conference on Saturday.
“I don’t really like answering personal questions after such a big team win. But just trusting in my coaches and leaning on my vets,” said Karlaftis. “A guy like Chris Jones, a guy like Frank Clark, Carlos Dunlap, guys like Mike Danna, Charles Omenihu, Tershawn Wharton, I could go on and on. What I am is because of those guys – especially (Defensive Line) Coach (Joe) Cullen and (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) Coach Spags and (Assistant Defensive Line) Coach (Terry) Bradden too.”
Karlaftis led the team with eight sacks during the regular season and carried over his momentum on a cold day at Arrowhead Stadium.
“When you get a sack, it’s a big thing, a big deal – both as a play and as a stat, but also for the morale,” said Karlaftis. “When multiple guys are able to do that when you have 8.0 sacks, that usually gives you a pretty good chance to win.”
The Chiefs defense made plays throughout the game, shutting down potential scoring drives. Karlaftis has become a force that warrants extra attention from offensive lines, which could affect the other pass rushers in the unit.
