Phillip Maxwell
Despite Sunday’s 9-24 embarrassing beatdown by the Denver Bronco’s, the Chiefs defense had a decent day, respectfully. They received very little help from the offense who could only muster up 9 measly points on 3 Harrison Butker Field Goals, all the while giving up crucial field position to the Denver offense — that, and a muffed punt by the Special Teams — had the Chiefs defense on their heels most of the game. Still, the Chiefs defense is tied for 2nd in the NFL for fewest points given up (16.1).
The last 5 years have been awesome, and a dream come true for long-suffering Chiefs fans, but I think I can speak for all Kingdom fans when I say, we are not satisfied. We want more, and as long as Patrick Mahomes is wearing a Chiefs uniform, expectations for every season will remain high.
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Confi-DANCE
Anything short of a hard-fought run at the Super Bowl each and every season during his tenure in Kansas City would be viewed as a waste. We had our share of the Lin Elliots and Elvis Grbac’s of the world, and now we have witnessed firsthand what this team — when led by a healthy Patrick Mahomes — is capable of, if managed properly. We as Kingdom fans have paid our dues with 50 years of disappointment, so spare us the “Spoiled Chiefs Fan” talk. We have witnessed firsthand what this team can do and we want to see its fullest potential displayed at all times.
As a lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fan, for almost 4 decades now, I have cheered on and witnessed various seasons with some formidable Chiefs offenses. Who could forget the Dick Vermeil days with the Chiefs offense — being led by Trent Green, Priest Holmes and Tony Gonzalez — a time in which Priest Holmes set an all-time record for the most rushing TDs in a season? Unfortunately for Chiefs Kingdom though, there were some incredibly bad Chiefs defenses on the field during those same seasons, not giving them the “D help” they needed to advance. Then — and who could forget — there were those stifling defenses, such as in the early 90’s led by the great Derrick Thomas, who by the way, is the only defensive player to ever record 7 sacks in a game (since sacks became a recorded stat). Again, those early 90’s defensive juggernauts were joined at the hip by offenses that struggled to put points up on the board.
The thing is, and to the frustration of Chiefs fans everywhere, those Chiefs teams haven’t been able to field both an elite offense and elite defense simultaneously. it has always seemed to be either one or the other. The last 5 seasons haven’t been any different, it has been the Chiefs offense that has been the juggernaut, sprinkled in with “defensive moments.”
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Jugger-NOT
Despite commentators and sports journalist using phrases such as “historically bad” when describing Chiefs defenses over the last half decade, “Mahomes Magic” has managed to get them to 5 consecutive AFC Championship games and 3 Super Bowl’s. Don’t get me wrong, we have enjoyed some phenomenal defensive moments during that stretch also, but never enough to take over games… that has always been left to the magical offense. However, I have to say, 2023-24 is looking promising. It’s early I know, and with an opponents schedule like the: Lions, Jaguars, Bears, Jets, Vikings, Broncos, Chargers and Bronco’s again (who at the writing of this article are a combined 26-25 this season), hasn’t exactly been the best barometer for testing the true strength of a defense.
Week 9 and 10 against the Dolphins and Eagles should give us a more accurate reading on just how good this 2023 Chiefs defense really is. In Patrick Mahomes illustrious career — all 5 1/2 years of it — he has never had the support of a top-rated defense to compliment the ultra-competitiveness he brings to the offensive side of the ball. Sure, there have been moments when the defense has stepped up, lots of them
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A Stone Cold D
A perfect example is last years AFCCG where Chris Jones put on a show, sacking Joe Burrows for a loss at the exact moment when the Chiefs needed a defensive stop the most, but as a whole? Chiefs defenses have not been spectacular, giving up an average of 22.3 points per game the last 5 seasons. This current Chiefs defense is giving up 15.2 points per game, and that is including late 4th quarter garbage points as well as points given up on offensive turnovers, which seem to be plaguing the Chiefs in 2023. In Mahomes’ first 5 seasons as a starter for the Chiefs, his defense has given up an average of 362.1 total YPG.
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In Comparison
The first 8 games of the 2023 season — thus far — that number is considerably lower at just 287.7 total YPG. Again, in the previous 5 seasons, the defense has given up an average of 240.6 Passing YPG, but in the first 8 games this season, that number is considerably lower at 176.1 Passing YPG. Same goes for the ground game, previous 5 seasons 121.4 Rushing YPG, and in 2023, 111.6 Rushing YPG. So you can see, there is a lot to be excited about on the defensive side of the ball. It has been decades since all three lines of defense have been as dominant as we are seeing in this year’s crew.
Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo seems to be happier than a tornado in a trailer park, and who can blame him, he finally has some top shelf talent at his disposal. I have said before, and I have been tough on Veach, so I have to give credit where credit is due in regards to the defense –> Brett Veach has done a phenomenal job finding the right talent. His signing of Drue Tranquill absolutely screams genius right about now with Bolton’s injury keeping him out of games, and let’s also not forget the signings of Safety Mike Edwards and DL Charles Omenihu.
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Some Summarizing
It is yet to be seen if this year’s defense has indeed turned the corner, or if it is just the results of the level of competition so far. Patrick Mahomes having a top 5 defense… is a scary thought, although sometimes I can’t help but wonder if Mahomes Magic is best displayed when playing from behind. His ability to Houdini himself out of most pocket collapses is becoming legendary and he has legs to go with it. As the Trade Deadline clock is ticking away –tomorrow at 4:00 ET — the one question remains on everyone’s mind, especially with the defense seemingly stepping up this season –> will Veach bring in a WR to help out the offense?
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Phillip Maxwell — ArrowheadOne
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“You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know
where you are going, because you might not
get there” – Yogi Berra
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