The Chiefs will have a tough time overcoming Eric Berry's injury

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

It’s not like Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry hasn’t dealt with adversity before. He survived cancer and came back to be an All-Pro.

It’s the Chiefs that might need to worry about Berry’s rough injury.

Kansas City lost Berry, who along with outside linebacker Justin Houston and cornerback Marcus Peters form a superstar core of a strong defense, for the season. The team confirmed Berry tore his Achilles tendon in Thursday night’s win against the New England Patriots. Presumably he’ll be placed on season-ending injured reserve soon.

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That’s life in the NFL. Even a memorable and fantastic upset like that can be crushed by big injury news.

The Chiefs will have a hard time replacing Berry, because any team would. He’s one of the best safeties in the NFL. You could see that Thursday night when he did a fine job covering Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, holding him to two catches and 33 yards.

The Chiefs should be excited after Thursday night. Their offense looked fantastic, with rookie running back Kareem Hunt adding a spark and receiver Tyreek Hill picking up where he left off from last season. Before Thursday night some people wondered if the Patriots were good enough to go 19-0, and the Chiefs smashed them in Foxborough. There’s a lot of reason for optimism after that.

But the excitement is tempered a bit. Berry is likely done for the season, and even with how good the Chiefs looked on Thursday night, it will be very tough for them to overcome that.

Eric Berry ruptured his Achilles tendon in Thursday night's season opener. (AP)
Eric Berry ruptured his Achilles tendon in Thursday night’s season opener. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!