Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

'Unbelievable' Chiefs LB Nick Bolton could be secret weapon vs. Bills' Josh Allen

By Thomas Huitt-Johnson | Last updated 10/14/22

Second-year players don't always have the same success they had their rookie years. The NFL refers to this as a sophomore slump. The good players pick up where they left off. Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton is that guy.

In Monday night's win over the Las Vegas Raiders, a lot was made out of Raiders receivers running into each other on their fourth-down play.

What seemed lost in that moment was Bolton's timed rush that sent Derek Carr's pass up in the air just before he was shoved down by the former Missouri linebacker.

Bolton, a 2021 second-round selection, is 11th in the NFL in tackles. He is consistently around the football and earning notice from head coach Andy Reid, who praised him following the game against the Raiders.

Andy Reid on Bolton: Off the charts with his tackling. "It's going to be hard to find another guy in the league that tackles better than Bolton. I mean, he's unbelievable."
— Vahe Gregorian (@vgregorian) October 11, 2022

On Sunday, the Chiefs play the Buffalo Bills in a rematch of last season's epic AFC Division Round game won by Kansas City. The key to Sunday's game might be Bolton and his ability.

Quarterback Josh Allen, who leads the league in passing yards with 1,651, also is the Bills' top rusher. Allen has 225 yards on 35 carries, an average of 6.4 yards per attempt. A team-high 17 of those totes have gone for first downs. Bolton will be tasked with stopping Allen and thus disrupt the flow of the Bills' offense.

He must do that for another game without his starting mate in Willie Gay, who returns from suspension next week. Bolton is the only linebacker on the roster for now who was active on last year's team. Yet, the linebacking corps appears stronger.

Darius Harris, who has spent most of his four years on the team's practice squad, has upped his play this season. He had 10 tackles and a sack in last week's win.

On Sunday, both linebackers will need to be stellar to take down the Bills.

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