Eric Berry, S, fourth Pro Bowl selection: None of the players selected to this year’s Pro Bowl had more ground to cover than Berry, who 13 months ago was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Berry continued to work out during the offseason, always painfully and usually tearfully, to get back for the start of the season, which against all odds he did. And Berry has played as well as he ever has, with two interceptions and eight passes defended.
Tamba Hali, LB, fifth Pro Bowl selection: Hali has 6.5 sacks, second on the team, and leads the Chiefs with 18 pressures. Hali is also having a superb season against the run. He has 11 tackles for negative yardage to lead the team.
Justin Houston, LB, fourth Pro Bowl selection: Houston has missed all of the past three games and most of the one prior because of a hyperextended knee. His stats are down from last year, when he led the NFL in sacks. He has 7.5 this year, which is tied for 18th in the league. But Houston was having a superb all-around season before the injury, which could keep him out for the season’s final two games as well.
Travis Kelce, TE, first Pro Bowl selection: Kelce is a mildly surprising selection because he’s down a ways on the list of pass-catchers at his position. Kelce is eighth among tight ends with 65 catches but fifth in yards with 822. Kelce scored the Chiefs’ first two touchdowns of the season, in the first quarter of the opener against the Texans, and has scored twice since.
Marcus Peters, CB, first Pro Bowl selection: The rookie first-round draft pick set the tone for his season, as well as that of the Chiefs, when he intercepted a pass on his first NFL play. Since then, he has continued to transform the Kansas City defense, which last season went begging for turnovers. This season, the Chiefs are a bunch of ballhawks, with none bigger than Peters. He is tied for second in the league in interceptions (7) and he has returned a couple for touchdowns.
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Derrick Johnson, LB: Johnson is another player who faced a long road back. He missed all but the season opener last year with a torn Achilles tendon. But Johnson returned in time for the start of the regular season and he, like Berry, is playing as well as ever. Johnson excels at getting into the backfield quickly on run play; he has eight tackles for negative yards to go along with four sacks, two interceptions and seven passes defended.