I don’t blame anybody for focusing consideration on the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs‘ offense. How may you not try this? Large receiver Rashee Rice is again. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is enjoying at an MVP degree. The Chiefs have scored 28 or extra factors in 5 consecutive video games.
It’s horny. It’s enjoyable. The offense is every part the previous two Kansas Metropolis offenses haven’t been.
However have you ever seen that in current weeks, coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s Chiefs protection has quietly — very quietly — been rounding into kind.
It began with the efficiency in opposition to the Detroit Lions, after they completed with fewer than 300 whole yards and simply 17 factors. Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown mixed for simply 112 yards from scrimmage on 28 touches — 4 yards per contact — which is properly under their profession norms.
It felt like one thing the Kansas Metropolis protection may construct upon. And it was.
Within the two video games since then, the unit has allowed a complete of simply seven factors — all of them approaching a miraculous Terry McLaurin landing reception on Monday night time.
Whereas the outcomes in opposition to the Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders have been related, the method was fairly completely different. Towards Las Vegas, the Chiefs’ protection was as dominant as we’ll most likely ever see. The Raiders completed the sport with simply 30 offensive performs — largely as a result of they didn’t convert a single third down.
Washington was capable of transfer the ball with extra success, however Kansas Metropolis got here up with sufficient well timed performs to carry the Commanders at bay. Mike Danna ended Washington’s first drive with an interception. Jaylen Watson ended the second with a fourth-down sort out, stopping Zach Ertz simply in need of the road to achieve. And the Commanders’ third drive ended when the Chiefs’ cross rush obtained residence, forcing quarterback Marcus Mariota to make a foul fourth-down cross.
The second half, nonetheless, was a return to the defensive dominance we noticed the earlier week. Washington’s 4 second-half drives produced 20 performs for 65 yards. Three of the 4 resulted in punts, with the ultimate drive ending on linebacker Jack Cochrane’s first profession interception.
Is that this actually the identical protection that couldn’t get off the sphere in opposition to the Los Angeles Chargers within the season opener?
It now looks like that recreation will go down because the outlier. The Chiefs now rank second within the NFL in factors allowed per recreation and third in yards allowed per recreation. That is now not a small pattern dimension. Kansas Metropolis is enjoying like an elite unit.
Diving deeper into the numbers makes it clear simply how good this protection has been:
I knew they’d been enjoying properly. I didn’t understand they’d been enjoying that properly.
However this success will quickly be put to the check. This yr’s worst defensive performances have all come on the highway — and a visit to Buffalo is subsequent on the schedule. That’s adopted by the workforce’s bye week and a three-game gauntlet at Denver, residence in opposition to the Indianapolis Colts and on the highway in opposition to the Dallas Cowboys for Thanksgiving.
One space of the protection that would nonetheless use a lift is the cross rush. Professional Soccer Reference has the Chiefs among the many backside 10 in hurry and strain charge. Kansas Metropolis has solely two defensive linemen among the many high 100 in hurries: George Karlaftis (fourth) and Chris Jones (twenty third). A line of defense reinforcement (or two?) on the commerce deadline wouldn’t harm.
No matter what occurs over the subsequent week, it seems the Chiefs’ protection has discovered its footing. I can’t imagine I ever doubted Spagnuolo’s skill to do it.
