The Kansas City Chiefs took to the Mercedes Benz Stadium and made a statement tonight. With Arthur Blank, Samuel Jackson, and Ludacris in attendance, the Kirk Cousins-Drake London combo failed to one-up the Chiefs. Alas, they had Nick Bolton eyeing them throughout the night. Things were going well with Bolton until they weren’t.

The Kansas City Chiefs linebacker got hurt in the last quarter and was slow to get up. However, he returned later to help the Chiefs call it a night. But before we dive into his game tonight, the play nearly stopped the hearts of the Kansas City Chiefs fans.

What happened to Nick Bolton?

The Kansas City Chiefs initially lost their linebacker to an injury. What really happened? Well, the injury came on the second and 7 play in the fourth quarter. Bolton knew he had to stop Drake London from making any moves. So, when London caught the pass from Kirk Cousins, the linebacker was immediately on his tail.

A defender came head-on, and Bolton was chasing London. As he made the tackle with his knees dragging on the ground, Bolton found himself on the ground and the agony was apparent. He briefly held his lower back while in pain. The medical staff helped him stand up, and Jack Cochrane replaced the player. Some sources suggest that the Chief’s defensive leader played through pain in the entire game.

“I think I got my lower back a little bit, kind of landed awkwardly,” said Bolton after the game.

One notable point is that Bolton sustained a severe elbow injury, while at the training camp. He was wearing an elbow brace on his left hand throughout the game. However, he knew the stakes were too high to abandon the match and returned to help the Chiefs get the W and maintain a perfect streak. The linebacker looked absolutely aggressive tonight!

How Nick Bolton kept the Falcons in check tonight

On paper, Bolton had 8 tackles tonight and 7 of those were solo. But that’s not it because he also had 3 tackles for losses tonight. One of his most noticeable moments came when he returned from his injury to stop Bijan Robinson from gaining some crucial difference making inches for the Falcons. However, he aggressively tackled the Falcons running back and hurled him to the ground.

It was fourth and inches with just 55 seconds left on the clock when Cousins handed the ball down to Bijan Robinson, only to watch him go down exactly a second later and take a 3-yard loss. The crowd went nuts! The linebacker didn’t look like a serious threat in the first two games, but he proved himself in this one. He recorded 8 solo tackles in the last two games however; he had 7 in this game. That’s quite a step up in his performance as it led to the 22-17 victory.

The Atlanta Falcons looked like they could beat the Kansas City Chiefs throughout the game. The Chiefs are set to visit the SoFi Stadium next week with a 3-0 lead. Let us know what you thought of Nick Bolton’s performance tonight.

With that being said, do check out our latest Think Tank exclusive interview with Doug Sanders. It’s packed with insights on the current NFL season, college football, NIL, and much more.