No matter what you think about the Kansas City Chiefs offense right now, you have to admit that the defense is coming up big. In fact, you could say they’re “Winning Pretty” while the offense? I don’t know about them. If you’re not convinced the defense is winning pretty, just take a look at the final results of each of the Broncos drives (possessions) on Sunday evening:
- Punt – 3-and-out
- Punt – 3-and-out
- Field Goal
- On Downs – after a 20 play drive
- End of Half – after two plays
- Punt – 3-and-out
- INT
- INT – Pick-6
- TD – too little too late
- On Downs
The Chiefs defense allowed one TD (with a missed two-point conversion) and one FG. That’s it. There’s no better way to summarize their efforts than to say they held the Broncos to 9 total points. While the Defense looks like they’re cooking, the offense is obviously struggling. Here’s what David Bell said about he offense recently:
“Patrick Mahomes execution, and mind, appear to me to be distracted week to week…. Whatever it is, he is just “off”. You can see it with the passes that are just not on target. How many deflected INTs has he had? Just a little off.”
Whatever it is with Patrick Mahomes, the defense is looking more and more like a championship defense. The Chiefs are 6-and-1 in their last seven (7) games and Defensively the points they’ve given up in those contests include: 13, 27, 17, 7, 14, 9, and 9. That’s 96 points allowed over their last seven games, which includes a loss to the Tennessee Titans, but even so, the defense has only given up an average of 13.7 points per game in that span. The Chiefs last seven (7) Defensive performances, TDs they’ve given up include:
- 1 – WFT
- 2 – TEN
- 2 – NYG
- 1 – GBP
- 2 – LVR
- 0 – DAL
- 1 – DEN
In the past five game winning streak, it’s 56 total points given up for an 11.2 points per game average. Nate Taylor of The Athletic points out the significance of that achievement:
While I have been down on Daniel Sorensen this season, it looks like his season is rounding out nicely:
“Fine tuning?” I think what Sorensen means is, everyone is playing together on any given play and doing the job they’ve been assigned to do on that play.
“IT TAKES ALL OF US”
It took a little zooming in on this quote, but the tag on Spags jacket says it all. It shows that it all begins with the coach in charge of a given unit. In this case that would be DC Steve Spagnuolo. Earlier in the season I was down on Spags (allowing 32.6 points per game over the first 5 games on the way to a 2-and-3 record), but he’s molded this accumulation of defensive performers into a machine that has all the gears acting like a Lange & Söhne German made watch. In the Bill Belichick era of the past two decades, that is called” “Doing your job!” However, since we know that a Spagnuolo defense has beaten the Patriots twice in the Super Bowl, we should be giving him his proper positive-comeuppance, and high grade accolades, accordingly.
Spags has been bragging about the physical play of his DBs:
“Yeah, you’re a complete corner when you do that [tackle], in my opinion. I tend to lean toward those guys. I think that makes us better. Now, you don’t take that at the expense of the skills that you need to cover, and we have a couple guys that have that combination. [Charvarius] Ward does that. He’s physical. He can cover. L’Jarius [Sneed] does it. [Rashad] Fenton’s done it for us. …. We tend to lean toward those kinds of guys. I think those guys know that about this system and how I would like them to play. I think it makes us better.”
Five (5) of the Chiefs top ten (10) tacklers in this game were defensive backs.
Charvarius Ward’s overall play specifically has been on the rise.
We know Rashad Fenton is having a great year. He’s been ranked second among all corners in the NFL with an 86.8 PFF grade. L’Jarius Sneed has been a wonder since he came into the league last year and already has 5 INTs as a Chief.
Tyrann Mathieu is one of the best Safeties in the game today and Juan Thornhill is showing all the promise — and more — that he showed us two years ago in his rookie season.
A Top Ten Defense
Many, including myself, have been saying he Chiefs could end up with a top ten defense… by the season’s end. Well folks, that time is now. Take a look a the current standings offered by FOX Sports, based in Points Allowed:
[Note: The Patriots/Bills game on Monday night has not been calculated into these figures but since both are at the top of this chart, it is not likely to change where the Chiefs are ranked.]
That’s right, K.C. is ninth (9th). Right now! Including all those horrible high scoring affairs at the beginning of the season. If you’e using the time that the defense is on the field to run to the bathroom, you may want to quit that personal policy.
Over the course of the Chiefs five (5) game winning streak (20 quarters of football), they’ve only allowed the opposition to get into the end zone six (6) times. Six total TDs. There is one big reason the Chiefs are winning right now and… it’s the way the defense is playing.
Here’s Willie Gay making what could have been: The Stop of the Game, when he shot the gap and brought down the Broncos star RB, Javonte Williams, creating a loss on this 4th down play and ending their 20-play drive on a critical 4th down:
Sure, Gay was unblocked, but that was because Chris Jones pulled the focus of the Broncos RG, Quinn Meinerz, and Gay stepped up and filled the gap, taking care of business on a RB who is noted for making people miss. I haven’t decided yet who is better? Willie Gay or Nick Bolton, but it’s clear the Chiefs Linebacking chores are in good hands for the next decade.
If I had told you before this game started, that Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce would have only 45 receiving yards combined, and Teddy Bridgewater would out-pass Mahomes by 73 yards (257 to 184), and the Broncos would have a 100 yard rusher… who would you have said would be the winner of this game??? It took a number of defensive players stepping up to make sure that didn’t happen.
Are you as impressed with the progress of this defense as I am?
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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