In his first year in Kansas City, defensive end Frank Clark is making quite the impact.
The ex-Michigan star is leading the postseason field with four sacks through the Chiefs’ two playoff games, after a regular season in which he became Kansas City’s top edge rusher, amassing 37 tackles and eight sacks.
"He goes 100 miles an hour at practice, 100 miles an hour in games, and that's contagious,” coach Andy Reid said.
But Clark does more for the Chiefs than what shows up in box scores — there’s also his fiery personality that helps fuel a defense that’s settling in at the perfect time. Look no further than his on-the-field, expletive-filled interview that went viral following the Chiefs’ win in the AFC Championship game over the Tennessee Titans.
In the game, Kansas City held running back Derrick Henry to just 69 yards. He ran for 377 yards in Tennessee's previous two playoff contests.
After the win, Clark asserted there was "no difficulty in tackling" him.
“[The Titans] come in here, they say they're gonna run the ball,” he told an NFL Network reporter. “I know exactly what they were gonna do, you watching that film, you know what they're going to do. The last two games, [Henry] had 200 yards each game, I knew damn well we weren't gonna win the game if we let that happen. They come in here, call him the best rusher in the league. We sending his a-- home early.”
In the same interview when Clark was asked about criticism on social media from people who doubted his claims of how good he and the defense were, his response was just as emphatic.
“They must not know who I am yet,” he said. “They gonna find out sooner or later when I got that [Super Bowl] ring on my m------------ finger.”
Clark will have the chance to back up his talk on Sunday evening when Super Bowl LIV kicks off at 6:30 p.m. That’s also when Kansas City will have the chance to go up against the player Clark replaced this season.
Dee Ford, now with the 49ers, notoriously cost Kansas City a trip to last year’s Super Bowl, when he lined up offside on a late fourth quarter play that ended when the Chiefs intercepted a pass from Tom Brady. The interception would have secured a win, but was negated after the penalty.
“I don't know nothing about him,” Clark told reporters this week when asked about Ford. “I couldn't name a stat. I don't know the school he went to.
“I just know he had lined up offside and anybody who lined up offside at a time like that, I feel like that's a dumb penalty at the end of the day. I'm sure he feels the same way.'”
In the offseason, the Chiefs traded Ford to the 49ers, and got Clark from the Seattle Seahawks. Prior to becoming a second-round draft pick, Clark was widely regarded as a top NFL draft prospect at Michigan. He registered 114 total tackles (35 for loss), and recorded 11 sacks in his college career. Clark was dismissed from the team in 2014 after an incident with his girlfriend that resulted in him being charged with misdemeanor domestic violence and assault. He later pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace.
The Seahawks picked him up in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft with the 63rd overall pick, and that’s where he remained for four seasons.
When the Chiefs signed Clark, they gave him a massive five-year, $105.5 million deal with $63.5 million guaranteed. He has so far delivered for a defense that is hitting its stride.
During the regular season, Kansas City’s defense was middle-of-the-pack when it came to total yards, coming in at No. 16 and relinquishing an average of 349.6 yards per game. But over the final four games of the regular season, the unit became more disciplined. In three of those games, Kansas City held opponents to under 200 passing yards; twice they held opponents to under 100 rushing yards, and allowed no more that 108 rushing yards in a single game during that stretch. In their first two playoff games, they allowed 94 and 85 yards rushing to the Texans and Titans, respectively.
Clark has asserted that the Chiefs have the “best defense in the world right now,” and as the unit has settled in, so has he.
After the Chiefs’ Week 10 loss to Tennessee, news came out that Clark was suffering from a pinched nerve in his neck. The injury caused pain, burning sensations down his arm, as well as numbness, that resulted in him missing two weeks.
But since Clark returned, he’s recorded nine sacks, 28 total tackles (11 for loss), and 15 quarterback hits.
“I don’t put myself in the category of no other guy,” he told reporters this week. “I don’t compare myself to no other defensive end in the league. I feel like my skill set is unique, especially, you talk about Frank Clark when I’m healthy, I don’t feel like there are a lot of defensive ends who can compete with me or play football at the level I play at.”
First Published February 1, 2020, 12:00 p.m.
