Chiefs vs. Bears game preview: Six storylines to follow
The Chiefs defense is becoming elite
Be honest with yourself. Did any in Chiefs Kingdom truly believe that this season the Chiefs defense would not only become competent, but would become one of the strengths of the team? I’ll be the first to admit I had my doubts.
Yes, the Chiefs overhauled the entire defensive coaching staff this offseason and brought in several big names. Steve Spagnuolo has a history of big time schematic performances, in one case beating one of the best teams of all time in the undefeated 2007 New England Patriots to win the sports ultimate prize.
Matt House was a rising star in the college ranks, commanding one of the most consistently strong defenses in arguably the most competitive conference in the country. It wasn’t just the fact that he ran a successful defense, it was that he did it while at Kentucky. This is no disrespect to their program, but Matt House was a big reason they achieved the heights they did in 2018.
Brendan Daly was another rising star, this time in the NFL ranks, who had won multiple Super Bowls with the defending champion Patriots. Deterred but not defeated after being passed over for head coordinator responsibilities in New England, he left for seemingly greener pastures to coach the defensive line with the Chiefs.
Yes, the Chiefs made major acquisitions in both free agency and the draft. They brought in prominent names like Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark on huge contracts. They expended valuable draft capital to bring in players like Juan Thornhill, Khalen Saunders, and Rashad Fenton.
Yet anyone who had watched football for a number of years and also watched the Chiefs defense the last few would have assumed this rebuild was going to take more than one season. Truthfully, we had watched a product on that side of the ball that struggled so significantly that I think most of us began to lose hope we would see a quality one anytime soon.
Luckily, for those who relate to the prior paragraphs, we were wrong. This defense struggled to open the season but has become borderline elite in the past several games. There are a bevy of stats that prove this point, but there are a few in particular to focus on.
Opponent’s third down percentage is one of the most prominent stats a defense is graded on. In 2018, the Chiefs defense ranked 26th in the league allowing conversions on 42 percent of opponents’ third downs. This season, they have improved that number to 35 percent and in the last three games have ranked second in the league allowing conversions on only 29 percent of third downs.
The defense has also been stifling from a production standpoint. In 2018, the Chiefs defense ranked 31st and allowed 404 yards per game. They have improved markedly in 2019, ranking 18th on the season with 357 yards per game allowed. They’ve been even stingier in the last three games ranking fifth and allowing only 287 yards per game.
What I would argue is the most important stat for defenses, points allowed per game, is maybe the most improved aspect of this unit in 2019. In 2018, the Chiefs finished 26th in the league and allowed 26 points per game. This season, they have improved to 11th allowing just 20 points per game and rank first in the league in the last three games allowing only 9.3 points per game.
The moral of the story is this: the Chiefs defense is now producing like an elite defense. They limit opponents yards, they force offenses off the field on third down, and they stifle opponents on the scoreboard. They are peaking at the right time, with the playoffs just around the corner, and we haven’t even discussed the fact they just added veteran pass rusher Terrell Suggs. In short, this defense has far exceeded my expectations this season and it’s been a joy to watch.