Denzel Ward, Myles Garrett are young challengers for the Chiefs great offense

Scouting the Defense

If there is one place that this team shines, it’s the defensive side. Cleveland is currently ranked third by DVOA standards this season. The only two teams that are in front of them are the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears. The Browns pass defense is also ranked number one by that same metric, while its rush defense is ranked 27th. Cleveland went through a defensive overhaul this season much as the Kansas City did.

The Browns added 12 new players to the defense that were not on it last season. Including a former Chief in Terrance Mitchell. Mitchell was lost for the season earlier this year after breaking his wrist in the middle of a game. The overhauled Browns defense has an excellent front seven that is being led by Myles Garrett who has accumulated eight sacks so far this year.

Cleveland also boosted their secondary this year by drafting Denzel Ward fourth overall during last year’s NFL draft. So far the early returns look great, he is currently rated as the ninth-best corner in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus. Leading the number one secondary as a rookie is no small feat, and it goes to show that Dorsey seems to have an eye for selecting cornerbacks in the draft.

Gregg Williams has generally coached good defenses no matter where he has coached. Now that he is the interim head coach we could see the entire team take on a more aggressive mentality that the defensive side of the ball already seems to possess. Teams tend to play well in the first game for an interim head coach.

Kansas City will have to do its best to not overlook the Browns even with all of the turmoil that is currently happening within the organization. As long as the Chiefs come out with the same intensity that they have throughout the season and don’t start flat, they should be able to cruise to another win and their continued stranglehold on the rest of the AFC.