Chief Dennis
With a tough ending to a Kansas City Chiefs season, many are blaming all sorts of sides for the team’s failure. Let’s not get it wrong here: there is always a lot to work on with any team. If there’s nothing to work on, then you’re the perfect team, and should have a perfect record and win the Super Bowl every year. That hasn’t happened yet, well not since the Dolphins of 1972, so even the most elite teams always have something to develop.
Specifically, with the Kansas City Chiefs, some have pointed to different parts of the offense, and some to Patrick Mahomes himself, but as I covered in my previous article, 2021 Chiefs: The Inconsistent Season, defense’s performance seems to be a much bigger game changer. So, our defense needs to make big plays — like forced fumbles and interceptions — to really change the tide of the game.
With that in mind: is our current defense good enough to make it to another Super Bowl, and win? Let’s find out together!
First, to evaluate the defense’s ability to help bring the team to another Super Bowl win, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to look back to the winning 2019 season where the Chiefs won their second Super Bowl ever. We’ll first look at raw statistics. Instead of forcing you to look at every single stat, I’ll round up the ones that matter the most: Right off the bat, it seems that sack yards could be better, as in the 2019 regular season, the Chiefs averaged 21.1 sack yards, where as they averaged about 11-12 sack yards per game in the next two seasons. This already points to aggressive playing being the most rewarding.
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Furthermore, the defensive line is yet another aggression point that can be a huge decider:
The 2019 season contained an average of 4.13 stuffs per game (66 total), whereas the 2021 regular season, even with the newly added extra game, averaged 3.3 stuffs per game (56 total). The same can be said with stuff yards, averaging 23.9 per game (383 total) in 2019, and a rusty 12.8 per game (218 total) in 2021. This is a really big deal, because it means that the more movement the DL can make, the more they can slowly collapse the QB’s pocket and make it more difficult for the opponent’s offense to make magic.
Continuing on this momentum of defensive aggression, let’s look to see if it matters in the postseason:
Right away, an easy one, total points allowed in 2021 as compared to 2019 were higher by 9 (from 75 to 84) which is an issue. This mean as a whole, defense needs to make more stops, make them earlier, and not let the opponent get to the red zone.
Wrapping back around to that aggression I mentioned, here it comes again, with the Chiefs’ defense making almost double the sacks in 2019 than in 2021 (9 in 2019, 5 in 2021), and with that, sack yards were more than doubled in 2019, at 76 total (37 in 2021).
Continuing, the same thing is seen in the postseason as is in the regular season, with stuffs and stuff yards being much higher in 2019.
Being More Assertive is the Key
What does this tell us? Being Assertive is Key, and the defensive line isn’t just another set of players that can be ignored. In an article called: “Aggression in Sport” for psychologyresearchnet.com comes this statement:
“In sport, the word aggressive is often used when assertive is more appropriate. For example, coaches describe strong physical play as aggressive, when this type of play is actually assertive; it is within the rules of the game and there is no intention to cause harm.”
So, when I say “aggression” I mean assertiveness.” The team needs to work together to make more stops. The defense simply needs to sack, increase their stuffs, and generally put more pressure on opposing offenses and their QB. This is paramount to making it into the Super Bowl and winning, as the pattern of aggression is no accident because it can be seen going into each season’s post season and contributing to the outcomes thereafter.
So, the defense can help make it to the Super Bowl and winning it, they just need to be more aggressive. However, can our current defense do that? Does something need to be changed?
Changes Needed
Well, many have been quick to call for Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs’ Defensive Coordinator, to leave, but it can be equally argued that it was the Spag’s defense that led the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIV. After week 7, Jordan Foote at si.com wrote a piece called, “For Better or Worse, Steve Spagnuolo’s Seat Is Heating Up” in which he said:
“Entering year three under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, hopes were high for a unit that has essentially been a middle-of-the-pack one since his arrival. Add in offseason moves like acquiring defensive tackle Jarran Reed, moving Chris Jones to the defensive end spot and drafting linebacker Nick Bolton, and things seemed to be on the up and up. Some impressive preseason reps amplified that optimism…. No matter how you slice it, the Chiefs have trotted out one of the NFL’s worst defenses this season. “
Nevertheless, it doesn’t have to be argued that Spagnuolo’s play calling can be questionable at times. There were many games where the Chiefs’ defense followed the same pattern, and for example, blitzed over and over again, even when that didn’t seem to work. I even recall during games this 2021 season, commentators mentioning multiple times when defense would stall across a drive, and the same play calls were being made time and time again.
In some ways, I think the defense has become predictable. The Chiefs need to mix up their play calling, Spagnuolo needs to implement the element of surprise, and pull off things the likes of which only the offense pulls off in the red zone (I know I don’t even have to remind any of you about how creative the Chiefs offense is in the red zone).
Touching on a topic I mentioned a little earlier, the DL, our own ArrowheadOne writer David Bell, wrote an article titled, “Just How Important Is the Chiefs Lack of Defensive Line Pressure?“. Clearly, it’s no secret that K.C.’s defensive line needs to step it up. More stuffs, more pressure, and more aggression, and better play calling. That’s the ticket.
What about the players? Well, many have discussed Frank Clark being a big problem on the roster, and that’s evident with his high salary and low output, but Chris Jones needs to step it up too! Especially in the playoffs.
It has been said that Frank Clark is going to be leaving K.C., which will create a lot of money and freedom for the team to make some moves, but it’s not the end of the road for Chris Jones. I still believe that he has the chance to revive himself and push forward to make plays that affect the season positively. He has done it before, and though he came up short this season, I don’t think he’s at the “end-of-the-road” like Frank Clark.
Summary
Can the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense win a Super Bowl? Well, as it stands right now, a few changes need to be made: better play calling, more pressure and aggression, and a few personnel changes. If this can get figured out, I think the defense will become a huge positive pressure point towards a Super Bowl appearance and win.
Go Chiefs!
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Chief Dennis — ArrowheadOne
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