Kansas City Chiefs: Three reasons for defensive success in 2019

Putting It All Together

Remember how the Chiefs were 26th in DVOA defense last year? They are now 11th, and climbing, this season. They still struggle to stop the run, but now rank sixth in DVOA pass defense.

They are also first in sacks, and are ninth overall in points allowed, allowing a little over 19 points per game. This defense isn’t just “average” but are now looking like a top unit. It also has a few  standout performances where they almost outright won the game for the team.

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• The Chiefs held the Raiders and Broncos to a combined 28 points in four(!) games. They had four interceptions against the Chargers. They also had signature stops against the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots, two playoff bound teams.
• Against the Vikings, they didn’t allow Minnesota to gain one first down in their final two drives. They won that game without Patrick Mahomes in large part because of the defense.
• Against Tom Brady, they stopped the future Hall of Famer on a fourth and three as Breeland broke up a pass intended for Julian Edelman in the end zone.
• Even in a loss to the Colts earlier in the year, the defense only allowed 19 points and the Chiefs offense had a chance to win the game late.

This Kansas City defensive unit has more signature stops and games under its belt than the entirety of last year’s unit. Last year, the Chiefs defense allowed seven total games of 28 points or more, and had four games allowing 37 points or more.

This year’s unit has only allowed four games of 28 points or more (with two games yet to be played), but no team has scored 37 on the Chiefs. This is even more impressive considering the Chiefs are tied with having played the fifth hardest strength of schedule this year.

The Chiefs are also a unit that is healthy going into the stretch run of the season. They may have lost Ogbah and Okafor to injury, but they recently claimed Terrell Suggs to fill that hole. That is good news for a team that has battled injuries all season long.

The culture of the Chiefs defense was changed the second Steve Spagnuolo was hired. Since then, players have been brought in to overhaul a defense that kept the team from a Super Bowl.

Now, that same defense is making a case for being one of the top ten units in the league. No one can call the Kansas City Chiefs defense bad anymore, and soon enough, they will have no choice but to call them good.

It is home stretch time in the NFL, so strap in folks, because it is about to get fun.