Coming into the Chiefs’ Sunday Night Football game against the Broncos, Kansas City safety Daniel Sorensen has been one of the NFL’s more downgraded defenders in the minds of the public — and to the occasional frustration of defensive teammate Tyrann Mathieu.
I went back and found all the plays where Tyrann Mathieu was visibly pissed off at Daniel Sorensen pic.twitter.com/LLBDkuhLgw
— alex (@highlghtheaven) October 11, 2021
Through the first 12 weeks of the 2021 season, per Pro Football Focus, Sorensen had allowed 23 receptions on 29 targets for 391 yards, 149 yards after the catch, four touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 144.0. Only Brandon Stephens and Chuck Clark of the Ravens had allowed higher opponent passer ratings among NFL safeties playing at least 50% of their teams’ defensive snaps, and only Ronnie Harrison (seven) of the Browns had allowed more touchdowns.
But Sorensen was the right guy at the right time with 9:36 left in the game, and the Chiefs already up, 16-3. Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater tried to get a pass to receiver Tim Patrick, but linebacker Ben Niemann deflected the pass, and Sorensen was there for the catch, and the 75-yard runback.
DAN HOUSED IT!!!! 🏠
📺: #DENvsKC on @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/LZPgZHuPVb
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 6, 2021
We are not suggesting that this represents some sort of “return to form” for Sorensen, who’s been pretty bad all season and has seen his playing time diminish severely in the second half of the season, but as the Chiefs’ defense continues to improve, it was nice to see a beleaguered player get an opportunity to help out when he really hadn’t before.
