Regardless of how much faith Chiefs fans or pundits have in the Breeland Speaks experiment, the coaching staff left no doubt on Sunday night that it had an abundance of confidence in the rookie defensive lineman-turned-outside linebacker.
Speaks, who’d played in each of the first five games, made the first start of his career on Sunday Night Football at New England. Speaks stepped in for the injured Justin Houston and played all but two of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps (76 of 78) in their 43-40 loss to the Patriots.
Speaks actually played more snaps than starting outside linebacker Dee Ford (72), the team’s top edge rusher so far this season.