Chiefs pass rusher George Karlaftis came up huge against the Texans

When the Kansas City Chiefs made George Karlaftis their first-round selection near the end of the first night of the 2022 NFL Draft, general manager Brett Veach noted that it was a bet on his potential, and his future. “He’s young, relentless, really dedicated to his craft,” said Veach then. “All the people at Purdue said he has his best football in front of him.”

What Karlaftis did in the fourth quarter Saturday against the Houston Texans is evidence of the pass rusher living up to that promise.

Karlaftis notched a trio of sacks in the final frame against the Texans, helping the Chiefs to their seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game. Those three sacks represent a new career-best for the pass rusher, who recorded eight this season.

AFC title games are all Karlaftis has known since entering the league.

His first sack of Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud came at a pivotal moment in the contest. With the Chiefs leading 20-12, the Texans offense faced a 4th-and-10 situation at the Kansas City 40-yard line. With just over ten minutes remaining, Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans left his offense on the field, hoping to extend the drive.

Karlaftis had other ideas:

Houston lines up with three receivers to the right, leaving tight end Dalton Schultz alone on the left, across from Karlaftis. With standout defender Chris Jones aligned on the edge opposite Karlaftis, Houston slides their protection towards him, and away from Karlaftis.

That leaves the third-year pass rusher working one-on-one against a tight end, and Karlaftis beats Schultz with a quick rip move, before chasing down Stroud for his first sack of the night. The Texans lost 16 yards — and possession of the football — and the Chiefs are set up with incredible field position to start their next drive. While they would end up punting, the sack from Karlaftis completely flipped the field position battle.

His second sack came later in the quarter, with the Texans facing 1st and 10 in their own territory. On this play, Karlaftis first runs through a chip from Schultz on the right side of the offense, before beating rookie right tackle Blake Fisher with a speed move to the outside:

That play was the first offensive snap of the drive. The last offensive snap of that drive? Another sack from Karlaftis:

This play is a great example of the cat-and-mouse game that goes on before the snap. Before the play, the Chiefs showed pressure, with linebacker Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill walked up in blitz alignment. Seeing this, Stroud makes a check at the line, which involves adjusting the protection and bringing Schultz — who was aligned out wide — into the formation.

That puts Schultz across from Karlaftis.

However, Kansas City did not blitz, instead sending just four after Stroud. But it was enough. As we saw on the first snap, the pass rusher beats the tight end with a rip move, and then fights through the running back to get to Stroud for his third sack of the night.

Trailing by 11, Ryans sent his field goal team into the game. But that kick was blocked, effectively ending any comeback threat.

The Chiefs are headed back to the AFC Championship Game, the third of Karlaftis’ young career. His career-best effort, coming in the fourth quarter, is a huge reason why.

And more evidence that he is living up to the promise he showed the Chiefs back in 2022.