Bolton Details Competition Chiefs Share at Linebacker Each Week

On playing a limited amount of snaps:

“Yeah, definitely took advantage of that. Kind of got our legs back a little bit. Kind of got a little rest and some time doing some things outside of football, family, friends, time with my dog a little bit. So just refreshing the mind a little bit. We obviously got a lot of football left to play, a lot of things to improve on. Even with zero points, there’s things you can improve on. So, I was working on those things this week.”

On holding a team to just 30 defensive snaps:

“Yeah, there’s always learning curves, man. There's some communication things, things you can do here and there, especially in my position. There’s a lot of noise when I'm out there on defense. So, I'm learning not to make a check, or making a bad check, or just making things in a timely manner, things you can constantly improve on throughout the week. But obviously didn’t play that many snaps. So, playing around real fresh, energy and effort was one of the things we're working on.”

On shutting down elite running backs this season:

“Yes, especially our D-line, and they go a good job of taking on blocks for us, putting two hands on guys and getting us run throughs. We took advantage of those early in the game, but also just the coaches, they put a great scheme together. Taking away what they want to do best, make them do the second or third thing, and then after that, we're flying around, going after the ball. We're just trying to have fun. I think we got me, Leo (Chenal) and Drue (Tranquill) trying to fight to the football. So, it’s who gets there first and that's kind of our mindset every play.”

On what stands out about Washington’s offense:

“Yeah, what stands out is the offensive tackles have obviously been playing great for them. They do a great job. They get their pass-catchers back so it's gonna be an added boost to those guys. And running backs have been doing great this year. One's averaging 5.3, I think, per carry, and got another one averaging, I think, 4.2 or something like that. So, it’s going to be a big challenge for us up front, as far as stopping the run early, getting them in favorable downs for us, and get after the quarterback.”

On playing defense with a lead:

“Yeah, obviously the last couple weeks there’s been a lot of that. Teams run early and then getting to the later half of the game, having to pass the ball a little bit to score points. So, obviously it helps us a lot. I always joke around with those guys, ‘Don't score in three minutes, and keep up the eight-minute, nine-minute drives out there, so we're always fresh. But yeah, man, when they’re scoring points, man, I think it's giving us a lot of juice, offense and defense and also on special teams. And gives the crowd juice, too. So, we're pumping those guys up with the ball in the end zone and we’ll have good games.”

On preparing for Marcus Mariota compared to Jayden Daniels:

“Yeah, they do a great job of keeping the offense kind of similar, and things that they do. Mariota runs the ball a little bit more, coming with his legs a little bit. But overall, kind of coming with the offense, their scheme and things they want to attack us with, they kind of just kind of marry with that a little bit. Obviously, Jayden Daniels is a great player and great with down-the-field throws and stuff. And I just think what they do is similar.”

On the last time he was involved in a shutout:

“Oh, man … a long time ago, maybe in high school. Been quite a while. Actually, might have been my freshman year in college, one of those two. It’s been a long time since I’ve had that much production on defense, having less than five first downs and less than 100 yards. So, it's definitely hard to do in this league.”

On preparing for an opponent that changes its starting quarterback:

“Yeah, I think it's unique, especially when you don't know until right before the game. But I got a little bit of time to kind of scout a little bit. He played a couple games this year, played some games last year, so you got some tape to kind of look at and just kind of figure out what he does best.”

On his recruitment as a high school player:

“Yeah, obviously, I didn't have a lot of offers coming out, so I was kind of waiting around for a couple of schools. Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana Tech was kind of like my last three after Washington dropped me. So, Mizzou offered me a little bit after, like, maybe like 14, 15 days before signing day. So, I remember just being ecstatic, took an official visit. Kind of felt like home. And I wanted to play in the SEC. So, kind of checked all the boxes off, and that's kind of my recruitment in a nutshell. Probably about 21 days long, I guess. Picked a good school.”

On the Chiefs culture made up of players not highly recruited out of high school, and whether they use that as an edge:

“Yeah, I feel like it's a chip on our shoulder. And also, just a simple humbleness. … A lot of us didn't have everything coming out of high school, or have it all together, or just wasn't highly talented guys. So, we understand the team aspect of it. I feel like that shows a lot. Not a lot of selfish guys trying to take things out for their own play, or act like they got better stats, or chase things. We put our team first. So, I definitely see that.”

On whether he’s aware of the current AFC standings:

“Not really. There's a lot of football left to play. Just trying to win a game every week.”

On whether he knows the Chiefs would be out of the playoffs if the season ended today:

“I'm pretty sure we're out. That’s kind of our mindset. We didn't play very well. Yeah, pretty sure we're out, but just taking week by week.”

On the progress of Leo Chenal since his 2022 rookie season:

“He's always been great at run defense. Honestly, his best thing he's probably done the last two years is communication, the IQ of the game, learning things around him, things that are happening. It’s things that as linebackers, we can alert each other to. You can kind of see him kind of doing that a lot. And also just evolving in terms of alignment a little bit. He's just a little bit more rushing a little bit this year, a little bit last year, but more this year. So, adding that to his toolbox, and he's playing at a high level with that.”

On seeing backups get valuable reps last week:

“Yeah, well those guys don’t get a lot of reps throughout the week, and to able to go out and execute the game plan. Obviously, last time the twos came in versus the Ravens, a touchdown was given up, and they kind of took that to heart. So, it definitely was a factor in going out there and having the success they had, the success they had keeping them from getting a couple first downs and keeping them out of the end zone. So, definitely super cool to see those guys that don't get a lot of credit, but do a lot for us throughout the week, to get a chance to go out there and see them on Sundays, for sure.”