Kansas City Chiefs defense proves itself in win over Vikings

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KANSAS CITY, MO – NOVEMBER 03: Derrick Nnadi #91 of the Kansas City Chiefs tackles Dalvin Cook #33 of the Minnesota Vikings for a loss in the third quarter at Arrowhead Stadium on November 3, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images) /

2019 vs. 2018

While the hope is that the defense of the past three weeks is the defense we will see the rest of the season, we can’t just pretend that the first six games of the season didn’t happen. This defense still has to own those games as well.

Before we speculate on where this defense could end the season, let’s see how the numbers they have put up so far compare to last season. Here are some of the key defensive stats for both last season and so far this season.

2018 Chiefs Defense:

26.3 points per game allowed
405.5 yards per game allowed
5.9 yards per play allowed
273.4 yards passing per game allowed
64.2% completions allowed
7.5 yards per pass attempt allowed
132.1 yards rushing per game allowed
5.0 yards per carry allowed
52 sacks (3.25 per game)
15 interceptions (0.94 per game)
41.5% third down conversions allowed

2019 Chiefs Defense:

22.7 points per game allowed
369.3 yards per game allowed
5.4 yards per play allowed
229.8 yards passing per game allowed
63.0% completions allowed
7.2 yards per pass attempt allowed
139.6 yards rushing per game allowed
4.8 yards per carry allowed
26 sacks (2.9 per game)
6 interceptions (0.67 per game)
38.5% third down conversions allowed

This year’s defense is allowing 3.6 less points, 36.2 less yards, 0.5 less yards per play, and 43.6 less yards passing. Even though they are allowing a few more rushing yards per game, the yards per carry allowed is now actually slightly lower than last season.

It’s fair to point out the Chiefs are still on track to have less sacks than last season and less interceptions as well. However, the fact that they are allowing less points, less yards, and less third down conversions is a huge win for the Chiefs.

Last season, 22.7 points per game allowed would have ranked 18th in the NFL (up from 24th). 369.3 yards allowed would have ranked 24th (up from 31st). 5.4 yards per play allowed would have ranked about 9th in the NFL (up from 24th). 38.5% of third downs allowed would have ranked about 15th (up from 25th). Those improvements are probably ones that most fans would have signed up for before the season started and that’s factoring in several games where the defense simply didn’t look like they had put things together yet.

We can agree that all things considered, the defensive numbers they’ve put up on the season are good enough if the offense can get healthy and return to their elite status. However, for a second, let’s allow ourselves to consider that maybe this defense is going to be able to keep up the production that they’ve had over the past three games. Just how do those numbers compare to last season?

I’m glad you asked.

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