Five reasons why the KC Chiefs will repeat as Super Bowl champions
By Chris Clark
Why KC Chiefs Will Repeat as Champs – Number 3: Defense on the rise
It’s not crazy to think that the Chiefs could have already been back to back Super Bowl champions had it not been for such a lousy defense in the 2018 season.
Patrick Mahomes was able to cover up that bad defense for most of that season but in the end, it came back and bit them. That loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, fortunately, spelled the end of the road for Bob Sutton as the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator.
Sutton’s oust opened the door for one of the better defensive coordinators in the league to take the reins in Steve Spagnuolo. The thought was that if Spags could improve the defense to just being in the top 20, a Super Bowl win would become a reality.
More. Three X-Factors on Defense Headed into 2020. light
That speculation did soon become a reality and his defense stepped up when the 2018 defense couldn’t. While last season’s unit wasn’t elite, it was a nice surprise to see just how well they did improve in just one season.
Where most defensive overalls will typically take a few seasons to see results, Spags deserves a lot of credit for what he was able to do in just one season. In last season’s turn around, the defense actually became fun to watch, unlike that dreadful unit the season before.
Where Sutton’s defense looked sloppy, Spagnuolo’s defense looked sharp and became a force to be reckoned with. If he could improve that group that much in just one year, what could he do in year two?
From 2018 to 2019 the defense moved up 14 spots, according to ESPN. It wouldn’t be out of the question for this group to continue to build trust with each other and become a top 10 defense. It that were to happen, sheer domination would ensue being paired with the league’s most lethal offense.
There’s no question that the defense will improve again and be a big reason why they’ll repeat in 2020.