Patriots could look to test Chiefs’ run defense, inside linebackers

In his postgame synopsis of the Chiefs’ 34-15 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Chiefs coach Andy Reid capped his statement with a quick, but notable, shout-out to inside linebackers Josh Mauga and James-Michael Johnson.

“To the two young linebackers who stepped in and played, my hat’s off to them,” Reid said. “That’s not an easy thing to do.”

Especially when you consider that two months ago, the 27-year-old Mauga was a free agent still looking for work while the 25-year-old Johnson was solidly behind Pro Bowl star Derrick Johnson and free-agent signee Joe Mays on the depth chart.

But things can change quickly in the NFL, and with the two starters out for an extended period of time due to injuries, both have been called upon to step in and make a seamless transition. Sunday’s game marked their second game as a starting duo, and they were a part of a defensive unit that arguably won the game for the Chiefs, thanks to several big stops in the second half.

“I think the defense played great,” outside linebacker Justin Houston said. “We’ve just got to eliminate the big plays, continue to be more consistent on our run defense. But besides that, we played great.”

Nobody felt like picking nits Sunday, particularly after a big win, but Houston had a point. The Chiefs allowed the Dolphins to rush for 141 yards in 20 carries, a robust average of 7.1 yards per carry.

The responsibility for fixing that falls on the entire defense. But linebackers are the heart of the unit, and there were times when the group overpursued and unproven Dolphins running back Lamar Miller, who rushed 15 times for a career-high 108 yards, found creases to run through..

Some of the Dolphins’ success on the ground had to do with matchups. Miami spent the entire game in three-wide, which meant the Chiefs were in their nickel and dime subpackages. That removed the Chiefs’ third interior defensive lineman from the equation, which has proved to make them a tad more susceptible to the run.

Tennessee used a lot of three-wide as well, and it chewed up 162 rushing yards in 38 attempts in a convincing 26-10 victory in the season opener.

After that game, in which Chiefs defensive end Mike DeVito and linebacker Derrick Johnson suffered season-ending Achilles’ injuries, the club moved quickly to bring in free-agent run stuffer Kevin Vickerson, a 6-foot-5, 328-pounder, who promptly helped them hold Denver to 88 yards in 19 carries on Sept. 14.

But after logging 13 snaps against the Broncos, who primarily used two-tight end sets, Vickerson only played four against the spread-heavy Dolphins. New England coach Bill Belichick likely has taken note of this, in addition to the fact the Chiefs now have two players who have 15 total career starts patrolling the middle of their defense, though he said in a conference call Wednesday that he is impressed with the unit, as a whole.

“I think the young linebackers in there play hard and they’ve got a good group of inside guys that are strong and physical,” said Belichick, whose team will visit Arrowhead Stadium to face the Chiefs on “Monday Night Football.”

Belichick said inside linebackers in today’s NFL need to display instincts and tackling ability against the run and the pass, which sometimes takes a few weeks to refine as they gain more confidence and learn how their teammates react to certain plays.

“I think Johnson and Mauga have improved every week,” Belichick said. “I thought they probably played their best game against Miami. I know well they are very athletic and cover a lot of ground and space, and I think that their reads and recognition are certainly improving, and I know they are being well-coached.”

Still, the Patriots could be tempted to test them. New England still has future Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady at quarterback, but the Patriots’ passing game hasn’t clicked. They are averaging 196 passing yards per game, which ranks 27th in the league, and Brady has been sacked seven times, which ties for the seventh-most in the league.

So it would hardly be a surprise to see New England turn to its ground game, which has fared a tad better. The Patriots rank 22nd in the league with 105 rushing yards per game, but with a raucous road atmosphere ahead on “Monday Night Football,” they might be better off poking around the Chiefs’ 23rd-ranked run defense, which has allowed an average of 130 yards per game.

Nose tackle Dontari Poe said he would not be surprised if the Patriots tried to do so.

“Me, personally, I feel like everybody is gonna try to test us,” Poe said. “So we’ve just got to be ready for it.”

That process will certainly start with Mauga, who leads the team in tackles with 19, and Johnson, who is tied for fourth with 11.

Like his coach, however, Poe appears to be just fine with that, particularly after the defense’s overall performance on Sunday.

“I think they’re doing real well,” Poe said. “They’re talking a lot more, they’re communicating a lot more. I’m not really feeling cautious about it.”

This story was originally published September 24, 2014 at 7:48 PM with the headline "Patriots could look to test Chiefs’ run defense, inside linebackers."