Phillip Maxwell
Uh Oh….Patrick Mahomes has a defense
Sure, the last 5 years have been awesome, and a dream come true for longsuffering KC fans, but I think I can speak for all Chiefs fans when I say, we are not satisfied, and as long as Patrick Mahomes is wearing Red and Gold, expectations for every season will remain high. Anything short of a Superbowl run during his tenure in Kansas City would be viewed as a waste. 50 years of coming up short, year after year after year. We had our share of Lin Elliots and Elvis Grbac’s, and now we have witnessed firsthand what this team, when led by Patrick is capable of if managed properly….We as fans have paid our dues, so spare us the “Spoiled Chiefs Fan” talk if you hear us grumbling about coming up short, we know what we have 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 pretty impressive offenses. I mean, who could forget the Dick Vermeil days with the Chiefs offense being led by Trent Green, Priest Holmes/Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez? Unfortunately for Chiefs Kingdom though, there were some incredibly bad Chiefs defense on the field during those same seasons, not giving them the defensive help, they needed to advance.
And then 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) But 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, they 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 with “defensive moments.”
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 Superbowl’s. We have enjoyed some
phenomenal defensive moments during that stretch also, don’t get me wrong, but never enough to take over games, that has always been left to the offense.
But, I have to say… 2023-24 is looking promising.
It’s early I know… and with opponents like the Lions, Jaguars, Bears, Jets, Vikings, Broncos, and Chargers who are a combined 22-25 this season, it hasn’t exactly been the best barometer for testing the true strength of a defense. Week 9 and 10 against the Dolphins and
Eagles will 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
actually. 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 13.7 points per game this season… and that is including late 4th quarter garbage points. That’s not too shabby. In Pat’s first 5 seasons as a starter for the Chiefs, his defense has given up an average of 362.1 total YPG…..In comparison, the first 7 games of the 2023 season thus far, that number is considerably lower at 294.6 total YPG. Again, in the previous 5 seasons, the defense has given up an average of 240.6 Passing YPG. In the first 7 games this season, that number is again considerably lower at 188.9 Passing YPG.
Same goes for the ground game, previous 5 seasons 121.4 Rushing YPG, and in 2023, 105.7 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. 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, I have been tough on Veach….but I have to give credit where credit is due in regards to the defense, he has done a phenomenal job finding the right talent. His signing of Drue Tranquill absolutely screams
genius right about now.
Patrick Mahomes with 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 out of most pocket collapses is becoming legendary and he has legs to go with it.
Even scarier would be if Veach brought in a top tier WR.
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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