Chiefs vs. Raiders: The mastery of Andy Reid and other lessons learned
By Byron Smith
The defensive line is coming together
In Week 1, the Raiders kept the Broncos out of their backfield and held them to zero sacks. Holding players like Von Miller and Bradley Chubb to zero sacks is an outstanding feat and it shed doubt on K.C.’s ability to get to the quarterback. That’s especially true when, also in Week 1, the Chiefs only managed to get to the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback once, despite Frank Clark being matched up against a third string lineman.
Fortunately, Kansas City was able to get 3 sacks in Week 2.
Yes, it can be argued that much of the line’s success came from the strong performance of the secondary. By locking down receivers, the secondary was able to force Derek Carr to hold onto the ball longer and be more susceptible to being hit in the backfield.
However, what can not be credited to the secondary is Chris Jones‘ aggressive play and ability to get in the face of Derek Carr on so many passes outside of the first quarter—including 3 hits on the quarterback and 1 sack. What also cannot be credited to the secondary are the holes Frank Clark was opening up for blitzing teammates
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Steve Spagnoulo’s defensive scheme centers around blitzes and putting the pressure on the quarterback. At the end of Week 1, fans became skeptical of this line’s ability and skill to fill that role for Spags. In Week 2, although not perfect, the line showed that it has the potential to get into the backfield and help out the secondary by forcing off-balance and poorly read passes.