Chiefs defense continues game of inches

The Kansas City Chiefs are winning, and doing so much because of a defense that finds all the right stuff at the perfect moment.

"“On this team, we fight for that inch, on this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Cause we know when we add up all those inches that’s going to make the..(expletive)..difference between winning and losing, between living and dying.”"

This is not my quote, or anyone from the Kansas City Chiefs. This quote, for those of you who don’t recognize it, comes from Tony D’Amato, Al Pacino’s character in the movie Any Given Sunday. But after last week’s game against the Denver Broncos, you may be able to imagine something similar being said within the Kansas City locker room.

We all know that the game came down to a few inches, quite literally, and could have gone either way thanks in large part to an outstanding defensive performance, and an all-out assault on Denver’s offensive line by Justin Houston. 

However, as the Chiefs head into their Week 13 matchup, it has become clear that defensive coordinator Bob Sutton clearly places an emphasis on defending a certain set of yards (or inches, sticking with Pacino’s quote).

While some may call it a “bend but don’t break” defense, some may call it being clutch. Regardless of how it’s painted, the numbers show us that two things are true.

First, the Chiefs defense gives up a lot of yards. Per ESPN’s Total Defense Statistic, the Chiefs have given up the seventh-most yards to this point in the season, averaging just under 382 yards per game. No matter how you look at it, that is a lot of yards that are given up each week. However, measuring defenses by yards allowed is not exactly the most accurate way to measure quality. 

Secondly, and more importantly, the defense doesn’t give up many points. This is where Sutton’s unit seems to really step up the most. When the opposing offense is in position to score, the Chiefs find a way to force the opposing offense to walk away with less than expected. Kansas City is allowing the seventh-fewest points so far this year, per ESPN.

I would even go one step further by saying, not only do the Chiefs play their best defense when in a position to stop a scoring opportunity, they also do their best work to take each opposing offense out of their element and consistently causing a sub par outing.

As Adam Teicher explains, “The Kansas City Chiefs have played four games this season against teams currently in the top 10 in the NFL in scoring. The Chiefs held all of those opponents below their scoring average, and in three of the games more than a touchdown below.”

We’ve all talked about the struggles of the offense as of late, and those have been evident throughout the season. However, here we are on the back stretch of the season with every reason to believe that the Chiefs will make the playoffs, have a very real chance of winning the AFC West, and could be in a position to have multiple playoff game at Arrowhead, in front of the loudest fan base in the NFL. 

The question is, can the Chiefs continue to win against an Atlanta offense that is leading the league in scoring, at 32.5 points per game. If they can, it may just prove that the defense does, in fact, have what it takes to win on any given Sunday. Including those deep in the playoffs.