Chiefs given opportunity to slay playoff giant

Jan 9, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Kansas City Chiefs free safety Eric Berry (29) reacts after intercepting a pass against the Houston Texans during the first quarter in a AFC Wild Card playoff football game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Kansas City Chiefs free safety Eric Berry (29) reacts after intercepting a pass against the Houston Texans during the first quarter in a AFC Wild Card playoff football game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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Jan 9, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Kansas City Chiefs free safety Eric Berry (29) reacts after intercepting a pass against the Houston Texans during the first quarter in a AFC Wild Card playoff football game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Kansas City Chiefs free safety Eric Berry (29) reacts after intercepting a pass against the Houston Texans during the first quarter in a AFC Wild Card playoff football game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Defense

“They force you into a lot of bad football”

The defense has been outstanding, the point totals for the last five weeks has been 0, 10, 13, 14, and 3. Kansas City hasn’t allowed more than 22 points since Week 4 when they played the Cincinnati Bengals.

There’s some good defense still playing in the playoffs but not many would argue that the Chiefs are playing the best right now. Tom Brady knows first-hand how good Kansas City’s defense is after suffering possibly the worst loss of his playing career in 2014 in a 41-14 pounding.

Brady would leave the game early after a dismal performance completing 14-of-23 passes for 159 yards, throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. It was the most visibly frustrated many had seen Brady as Kansas City’s defense suffocated the superstar-led offense.

Brady spoke about Kansas City on his weekly appearance sports radio WEEI, “They force you into a lot of bad football.”

"“And they have guys offensively [so they can] control the clock, they run the ball a lot. They have a very good quarterback [Alex Smith] who plays very efficiently. That’s what they did to us, and that’s been a winning formula for a long time.”"

“A long time” is funny to hear from Brady but this is three straight years that the Chiefs have had one of the better defenses despite missing the postseason in 2014.

This year Kansas City finished the regular season with a -14 turnover differential which was second-best in the league. The Chiefs 29 takeaways was second only to the Carolina Panthers. This was a huge step forward for Kansas City, after missing the playoffs in 2014 the team found it’s self in the bottom half of the league in takeaways with 13 total for the year.

The Chiefs knew this was an issue that had to be addressed if they were going to be a Super Bowl contender and that’s what drove them to draft defensive rookie of the year candidate Marcus Peters.

Next: What Needs To Be Fixed?

Schedule