Defensive Players of the Week
An odd confluence of defensive stars. Sorensen and Van Noy were Brigham Young teammates in 2013.

Daniel Sorensen, safety, Kansas City. Two huge plays for a glue guy in the K.C. secondary that were huge in the Chiefs winning the AFC title game. He knifed through the New England line on a Patriot fourth-and-one run by Rex Burkhead, stoning Burkhead for no gain and turning the ball over to the Chiefs. Then Sorensen picked off Tom Brady midway through the fourth quarter, leading to a K.C. TD. And he had 14 tackles. Must be nice, playing the best game of your life in the biggest game of your life.

Kyle Van Noy, linebacker, New England. The Patriots have made some killer trades in the Belichick Era, but this morning, not many look better than the ripoff job they did with Detroit before the 2016 trade deadline. They traded a sixth-round pick to Detroit for Van Noy and a seventh-round pick. In other words, they dropped down 24 slots on day three in the 2017 draft for the guy who wrecked the Chiefs in the first half of the AFC title game Sunday. Van Noy sacked Patrick Mahomes for losses of 14 and 10 yards before intermission, forcing a fumble on the second, while leading the Pats on the day with 10 tackles.