Chiefs: Unsung Heroes – Dan Sorensen – This is the second in a series dedicated to the unsung heroes of the Kansas City Chiefs. Those Chiefs who are not as well-covered, nor well-known. You know, those players who get little glory, less recognition, and even smaller salaries, that help ensure the well-oiled machine that we call our Chiefs, make the magic happen. As extraordinary as Mahomes and the others are, they could not be such without these lesser-known guys. Those unsung heroes who make the impossible, possible.
Flashback: January 12th, 2020, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO, AFC Divisional Playoffs. The future was looking none too bright for our beloved Chiefs on that crisp January morning in Arrowhead stadium. The Chiefs were down 24-0 with a little over 10 minutes left in the first half, at home, against a hungry, up-and-coming Houston Texans team with visions of Super Bowl glory prancing in their heads. Chiefs Kingdom, at Arrowhead, and at home, throughout the nation, and throughout the world sat with mouths agape, absolutely stunned. Forebodings of playoffs defeats against teams like the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, and the New England Patriots no doubt filled the heads of the Red and Gold faithful.
Those fears mitigated a bit after a 17-yard strike from star Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to the ever-reliable running back Damien Williams. Note I said ‘mitigated’, not eased. Seventeen points is a heckuva deficit to overcome even at home, particularly against a tough, confident (albeit overly so) Texans opponent who had the audacity to believe. At Arrowhead, no less!
We needed a spark. Something bigger than a touchdown, to snap our Chiefs players and fans out of the funk that the Texans surprising four score deficit had placed us in. While Mahomes inspired the offense on the sidelines, Dan Sorensen took the field with special teams on a routine fourth and one punt. Only it was not a punt, nor was it routine. It was a fake. Texans head coach Bill O’Brien was pulling out all the stops on the favored Chiefs.
Instead of hiking the pigskin to Texans punter Bryan Anger, the ball went instead to safety Justin Reid. Luckily, however, Daniel Sorensen was stalking Reid from the other side of the line, mirroring the Texans safety every step. When the snap went to Reid instead of Anger, Sorensen pounced with the viciousness and tenacity of a hungry lion on a gazelle, tackling Reid short of the first down. We had gotten our spark, courtesy of Mr. Sorensen. Possession went to the Chiefs, and MV-Pat rallied his newly inspired comrades to a second touchdown just three plays later.
The Chiefs would add two more unanswered touchdowns before the half ended to start the second half up 28-24. The Chiefs added 23 more points in the second half, while the Texans were good for a single, nonconsequential touchdown. The Chiefs were on their way to the AFC Championship game against the Tennessee Titans, who squeaked out a win against them earlier in the regular season, while the Texans did … well, whatever Texans do when they are not playing in the AFC Championship, or ever (the Texans are the only NFL franchise to have never played in a conference championship game).
It was, arguably, the biggest play of the game, and the biggest play ever in Sorensen’s six-year NFL/Chiefs career. Not if you ask Sorensen, however. He, predictably, played down the spark that inspired his fellow Chiefs to victory. “I was just doing my job.”
That’s the thing about Sorensen. He is notoriously introverted and low-key. He sheds the spotlight at every interval. You’ll not read many tweets from Sorensen (he’s tweeted just 375 times in the past decade), nor are you likely ever catch a SnapChat, a TikTok, or an Instagram. In perhaps the understatement of the year, Sorensen’s wife, Whitney, explained, “We don’t do much social media.”
While Mahomes took away the offensive MVP in the game against the Texans tossing 23/35 passes for 321 yards, five touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, Sorensen was the defensive MVP. Besides his game-altering fourth-down stop, he caused a fumble on kickoff return, ultimately resulting in another Chiefs touchdown (note to Darwin Thompson: this isn’t college, you’ve got to run when you recover a fumble – even on kickoffs). Sorensen led Chiefs defenders with nine tackles (five solo). He played all 80 defensive snaps along with 29 plays on special teams.
The Chiefs safety did not let up the next week in the Chiefs 35-24 victory over the Titans in the AFC Championship. Sorensen logged eight tackles (six solo and one for a loss), along with a pass defended. His solid thump on Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, foolishly trying for a first down on a third-down scramble, is the stuff of QB’s nightmares.
Fast forward two weeks and the reliable Sorensen proved just as effective in the Chiefs Super Bowl LIV 31-20 victory over the 49ers. Sorensen was in on six tackles (four solo).
Last year, was just a great year for the introvert safety. His best in his six-year career, to be sure. He registered 57 tackles (13 assists) and two interceptions. Both of them game-clinchers against the Los Angeles Chargers and their QB, dubiously honored as the 29th best passer to guys in Red and Gold in Chiefs history, Philip Rivers.
Truth be told, all the stats and kudos included in this article about our Mr. Sorensen are most unwelcome, by our unpresumptive #49. The UDFA picked up by the Chiefs in 2014 would much rather leave his talking on the field.
Whether he likes it our not, Dan Sorensen is making quite the name for himself. Chiefs Kingdom and teammates, alike respect him. Tyrann Mathieu says of Sorensen:
“He has been instrumental. Dan plays all over the field. He plays all the special teams units, and then we count on him on defense. Even before Juan Thornhill went out with an ACL injury, Dan was making some plays for us. I believe he’s the reason we won both of those Chargers games.”
Opposing teams are fast learning to fear that soft-spoken young man from BYU who helps regulate the Chiefs secondary. After all, those footsteps headed toward them, may well be his.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Sorensen’s nickname — “Dirty Dan” — given to our unsung hero. Rest assured that it’s not for his off-field behavior, nor any on-the-field shenanigans. Perhaps, Chiefs HC and fellow BYU alumni explains Sorensen’s moniker best,
“The players nicknamed him Dirty Dan, which when you talk to him, he’s the most mild-mannered guy you’ve ever met. He’s a great representative of BYU because he doesn’t swear, he doesn’t drink, he’s a great family guy, the whole works. He took on this nickname because of the toughness he displays on the football field and how he goes about his business.”
Special teams coach Dave Toub chimes in,
“He’s a quiet guy but he has the nickname ‘Dirty Dan’ for a reason. When he steps on the field, he turns into that ‘Dirty Dan’ guy. It’s not a nasty thing, it’s just that he plays hard and he’s tough and a courageous guy.”
“It’s a respectful thing.”
Thus, I try to refrain referring to our #49 as “Dirty Dan.” To me, to his teammates, he’s just the guy who gets the job done. Given his humble and introverted nature, I reckon that’s just how he likes being thought of. Unsung heroes are like that, you know.
Michael Travis Rose — ArrowheadOne
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