Chiefs Are Built To Beat The Seahawks
Nov 9, 2014; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Dontari Poe (92) looks to make a tackle on Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson (22) during the first half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
The Chiefs, through some sort of football magic, have yet to concede a rushing touchdown this season. Having already played nine games, that stat is fantastic. It’s also entirely misleading.
The Chiefs run defense is not the Goliath that stat suggests. I also don’t believe the Chiefs run defense is a huge liability. Sure, the Chiefs have allowed opposing teams a worryingly high 4.7 yards per carry, but I believe this is in part due to using personnel packages that primarily focus on defending the pass first. The Chiefs have a lot of big men to rotate in and out in an effort to stuff the run tomorrow. Dontari Poe, Vance Walker, Kevin Vickerson, Allen Bailey, Tamba Hali, and Justin Houston will likely all be moved around at or near the line of scrimmage to present a stern challenge to Seattle’s resident wrecking ball Marshawn Lynch.
Will the Chiefs concede a rushing touchdown tomorrow? Yes, in my opinion. Will they allow Seattle to dominate the game on the ground? No.
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Backing me up on this is the fact that the Chiefs have another important set of statistics working for them. The Chiefs possess the number one pass defense in yardage allowed this year. The secondary, despite lacking a true star outside of the oft-injured Eric Berry, has played fantastic football and grown enormously since last season. Thanks to a solid pass rush and great coverage this year, the Chiefs have all but eliminated those long pass plays that burned them all last year.
How does this help against Seattle?
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Taken in a vacuum, it doesn’t. Seattle is sitting dead last in passing yards this year, and they’re near the bottom of the barrel in completions as well. Frankly, Seattle has been unimpressive through the air this year. The Chiefs pass defense shouldn’t struggle to keep Seattle’s success through the air limited.
Taken in conjunction with the previous statement, however, this bodes well for Kansas City. With the secondary playing at the high level it has been in recent weeks, the Chiefs have more leeway to rely on their corners to stay in coverage in order to stack the box and take away running lanes. Expect personnel packages we haven’t seen much of thus far this year as Reid and Sutton focus on stifling the only threatening aspect of the Seattle offense.