NOT A PLAYOFF CONCERN
The last point I wanted to touch on was the narrative that Kansas City has lost in the playoffs due to the fact that they were unable to stop the running attack over the past several trips. I’m here to tell you that the narrative is false. Let’s take a walk down memory lane.
The most common game brought up, which is understandable considering it is the most recent, is the New England Patriots game in the AFC Championship. Many fans still believe that the loss was due to the Patriots ability to run the ball down the throats of the Chiefs defense, which in turn, kept the ball away from Patrick Mahomes. While the Pats possessed the football for more than double the amount of the time that Kansas City did, the game still went to overtime before a winner was declared.
If you remember that overtime, the Patriots never ran the ball until they were in the red zone. All three 3rd-and-long conversions came through the air as Sutton was unwilling to make adjustments. That allowed Tom Brady to run the same plays repeatedly without any fight back.
Let’s not forget that the Chiefs were scoreless going into halftime which shows that offensive performance was part of this equation despite putting up 31 points in the second half. When looking at the playoff losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans in prior seasons, you will find that the Chiefs were unable to score 21 points in those games. Pittsburgh won despite not scoring a single touchdown and Tennessee held the Chiefs offense scoreless in the second half. Both of those games fall on the offense and their inability to put up points and help the defense.
Given the ability of the Chiefs offense to put up massive production against almost any team in the NFL, the defense allowing teams to make some plays in the running game does very little to affect the overall outcome. The reason that it affected the playoff games against the Steelers and Titans was the simple fact that Alex Smith was unable to get this offense going. If you were asked before a game if you would be satisfied holding a team to 21 points, you would probably say yes considering your quarterback is Patrick Mahomes now.
We all agree that there is concern around the Chiefs run defense and how bad it has been through the first quarter of the season. The difference is that I don’t see it being a reason they lose games and the argument of controlling the game and keeping Mahomes off the field is an argument that doesn’t make sense considering the Chiefs still get the same amount of possessions as the other team if they don’t turn the ball over. We have seen the team’s ability to score in a single play or two.
Kansas City has allowed big numbers to opposing running games in the playoff losses over the last few seasons, but it was the offense’s inability to score and inability to stop the passing game that kept them from winning those games. I’m interested to see if Spagnuolo makes any changes going forward to help this group, whether it be scheme or personnel.
Reggie Ragland has barely seen the field and he is the run-stuffing linebacker of the group. The major issue is that he is a liability in coverage and given the number of motions that teams are using to get favorable matchups, that could be the reason that Spagnuolo is keeping him on the sideline, which allows Darron Lee to remain in the game despite his poor run defense.
Only time will tell on how this unit will look come January, but as long as the overall defense continues to take steps forward, they don’t have to be a finished product in October.