KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two 4-3 linebackers remain from the NFL’s draft class of 2005.

One of them — Carolina’s Thomas Davis — finally reached a Super Bowl last season.

STEELE's PICK: Chiefs to wrest West lead from Raiders

The other believes this could be his year to not only play in one but win it.

You can’t blame Kansas City’s oldest non-specialist for feeling that way, either.

“I’ve been through the ups and downs,” Derrick Johnson told Sporting News after the Chiefs completed their Tuesday practice. “I definitely know I’m on the ‘up’ part of it now.

“I’m toward the end of my career. What better way to finish my years out than being on great teams?”

IYER's PICK: Chiefs to win by just enough

The 2016 Chiefs (9-3) may not be great yet, but it’s trending that way. A win Thursday night (8:25 p.m. ET, NBC, NFL Network) over visiting Oakland (10-2) would put the Chiefs in control of the AFC West with just three games to play by virtue of their road victory over the Raiders earlier this season.

While the offense continues to seek better consistency, the defense (and special teams) remains Kansas City’s strength. The Chiefs have forced an NFL-high 25 turnovers, surrendered the ninth-fewest points and rank sixth at limiting scores inside the 20-yard line.

Already the franchise’s all-time leading tackler, the 34-year-old Johnson has led the way again with 116 stops and remains an every-down player despite his age. And with Justin Houston (knee) and Dee Ford (hamstring) getting healthy alongside fellow pass-rush terror Tamba Hali, the Chiefs are on the verge of becoming even stingier as the jostling for playoff berths and home-field advantage becomes fiercer down the stretch.

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“We would like to get the yards (allowed) down,” Johnson admits. “We still have that bend-but-don’t-break mentality because offenses are really good now. You can’t go into the game thinking you’re going to shut out somebody or not let them score at all. That doesn’t happen anymore much. But we’ve made a conscious effort to get turnovers, sacks and affect the quarterback somehow.

“The key has been doing it through the week during practice. On Sundays, it comes easy for us.”

NFL success hasn’t come easy for Johnson despite being the No. 15 overall pick in the 2005 draft. After four solid but unspectacular seasons, Johnson was used primarily as a backup in 2009 by then-head coach Todd Haley.

The benching actually brought out the best in Johnson. His first Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods came in 2011. But for Johnson, such individual accolades were overshadowed by the Chiefs being one-and-done during their 2006 and 2010 playoff appearances.

The low point of Johnson’s career came in 2012. The lousy win-loss record in a 2-14 campaign — the second one Johnson had to endure — became secondary when teammate and fellow linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his fiancee and himself in a December murder-suicide.

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“That was a close guy to me,” Johnson said. “I’m not condoning what he did because you also grieve for her family. But football player-wise, I would probably pick Jovan and Tamba first to go in a back alley with me. They’re guys who would always have your back.

“That was a tough time for us, but we moved past it. I actually think it made the team stronger.”

The 2013 addition of head coach Andy Reid, who went through his own personal tragedy the previous year with the overdose death of his 29-year-old son Garrett, helped with the healing process and starting anew. The Chiefs went 11-5 that season and have yet to finish with a losing record under Reid. Kansas City also ended a 22-year playoff losing streak last season with a first-round road blowout of Houston.

“We’re just more complete since Andy got here,” Johnson said. “Don’t get me wrong — I’ve been on good teams here and we’ve had some great hopes. But chemistry-wise, we never hit on all cylinders. With Andy, we’re very consistent.”

Johnson not only provides stability on the field but also sets an example for younger players away from it. His Defend the Dream charity foundation opened its 10th reading room aimed at at-risk youth last week at a Kansas City-area library. Johnson’s inspiration for DJ’s Discovery Den comes from his mother, Beverly, a longtime Texas schoolteacher.

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“My passion is working with kids through education,” Johnson said. “I try to let inner-city kids know that I don’t care about what you want to be in life. But education, you have to get this part down. If you don’t, you can’t get out of your circumstance.”

Johnson laughed when recalling a recent conversation with a young practice-squad linebacker who had no idea of his background. The newbie asked if Johnson was in the NFL for “five, six years” and what other teams he played with.

“I told him I’ve been here the whole time,” Johnson said. “He was like, ‘Wow!’

“That’s a blessing. I don’t take it for granted.”

The same goes with the way his Chiefs teammates feel about him even though he often receives good-natured ribbing about his age.

“To still do what he does flying around like a young guy, that’s a blessing,” rookie defensive lineman Chris Jones told Sporting News. “You don’t get that every day. With how much he puts into this game, you look up to guys like him.”

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The Chiefs experienced life without Johnson in 2014 when he landed on injured reserve with a torn Achilles tendon suffered in Week 1. What unfolded was a 9-7 season that marked the only time Kansas City has failed to reach the playoffs under Reid’s watch.

Although in his early 30s then, Johnson said retirement never crossed his mind.

“I felt I had a lot more to do here,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of losing seasons and tough times here. We’re winning now, so when I got hurt, I was like, ‘I need to get back. This is a special team. I want to be a part of it.’”

For how much longer?

“You know what? I try not put number on it,” Johnson said. “After this year, I have two more left on my contract.

“If I won a championship, (then) we can start counting. But until then, let’s first try to win one.”