Chiefs hope Dee Ford builds on his strong performance against San Diego

The Chiefs will again be without Justin Houston against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, which means it will again fall on Dee Ford to fill the star edge rusher’s considerably large shoes.

Ford, though, certainly appears to be more up to the task following the Chiefs’ 10-3 win over the San Diego Chargers, in which he opened some eyes in his second career start by racking up three sacks and surpassing his combined total (1  1/2 ) in his 26 previous NFL games.

Now Ford, 24, has to prove it wasn’t a fluke, though defensive coordinator Bob Sutton noted this week that Ford’s latest performance should prove that he is, at the very least, an improved player.

“It was exciting to see him do the things he did,” Sutton said. “The sacks were great and he made three or four really outstanding plays.”

Ford’s breakout performance aided a strong Chiefs’ rush that has not missed a beat since Houston suffered a hyperextended left knee in a 30-22 win over the Buffalo Bills on Nov. 29. The Chiefs, 8-5, rank fourth in the NFL in total sacks with 39, an average of three per game, and in the two games since his injury, the Chiefs are averaging 4  1/2 per game.

Ford’s performance on Sunday, obviously, played a big role in that. Of his three sacks, two came in a traditional manner, as Ford needed a strong good pass-rush move and a quick burst to the quarterback to get home.

The other came, however, because of Ford’s anticipation off the snap of the ball, and left tackle Chris Hairston’s inability to react to it. And as Ford, who was untouched, drove quarterback Philip Rivers into the ground only seconds after the ball was snapped, Hairston could only watch.

“Chris didn’t get off on the ball there,” Rivers admitted afterward. “Whether he didn’t hear the count or we were going on this and that, Ford came up and flew right by him.”

But Ford will take it, and why wouldn’t he? The Chiefs had been waiting for a year and a half to see that kind of production from their 2014 first-round pick, and Ford’s teammates were impressed with his performance, all the same.

“He’s a tough-minded guy,” inside linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself because he knows his ability to rush the passer. He knows he’s really good at it and very explosive.”

Ford also had a hand in the final play of the game, when he dropped into coverage, flipped his hips and turned and ran with Chargers running back Danny Woodhead, who burst upfield on a wheel route. With Ford in his hip pocket, Woodhead failed to haul in the pass in the end zone, and the Chiefs held on for the victory.

“He just balled, he just did a great job,” safety Eric Berry said of Ford. “Basically, he just iced the game for us.”

Ford is an outgoing fellow who has never lacked confidence, so when he was asked if he felt equipped to cover the slippery Woodhead, who is listed at 5 feet 8 and 200 pounds, Ford grinned and made it clear that he did, despite his 6-foot-2, 252-pound frame.

“Yes, of course — that’s what the ‘Sam’ position in a 3-4 linebacker (position) has to do in a 3-4 defense,” Ford said. “You can’t just be a one-trick pony — I hear that a lot. And I have great coaching, so I’m able to take what I do well, which is pass rushing, and I’m able to apply it to a complete skill-set.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he expects his young pass rusher to continue improving with the additional playing time he’s receiving while Houston recovers.

“He keeps getting better and better … (Sunday), you got the full picture,” Reid said of Ford. “He had three sacks (and) got beat on a crossing route by the tight end (early), but came right back and made one of the biggest plays of the game at the end, covering what I think is a very good football player. So he learned from the first one, took care of it the second time and did a very good job.

“He’s just got to keep coming, gotta play and play and play and get that experience under your belt. He’s got a couple of good teachers, plus a coach (Gary Gibbs) who is a good teacher.”

Ford’s teachers, of course, are Houston and veteran Tamba Hali, whose presence at outside linebacker have kept him from making an impact sooner than most first-round picks.

But Sutton, like Reid, was still pleased with the growth he saw from Ford on Sunday, which featured a handful of plays that offered proof he still has a chance to be a productive full-time player down the road.

“He got the quarterback on a scramble that was about ready to (be) a first down in the red zone when they kicked the field goal,” Sutton said. “He smelled out a screen play ... (and) obviously, the cover on the wheel route on the last play of the game, that’s an area that he hadn’t been exposed to, really, and to me, that was as exciting as the sacks.”

Now, Sutton repeated, Ford’s challenge is to follow it up with another strong performance. Sutton added Ford won’t necessarily be judged by the number of sacks he gets going forward, either.

“It isn’t so much as ‘Am I going to get three sacks again?’ ” Sutton said, “but ‘am I going to perform at a winning level? Am I going to perform and improve each and every week?’

“If he does that, then he’s like all other players, and you’ve got a chance to be a really good football player.”

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 7:45 PM with the headline "Chiefs hope Dee Ford builds on his strong performance against San Diego."