What we learned from the Chiefs loss to the Raiders

The Chiefs can’t lean on their defense

This season, we’ve praised the Chiefs defense for their hustle, toughness, swagger, and chemistry. And I don’t think you can walk away from this game questioning any of these traits. Instead, today’s 40-burger reminded us of a face I think we all know: this defense just isn’t overly talented, especially at LB and CB. This game merely magnified the talent deficits on that side of the ball.

The secondary, led by a returning Bashaud Breeland, had their worst game of the season. Charvarius Ward was essentially benched after the first half, we saw miscommunications galore, and Tyrann Matthieu had a rare poor outing. The group was beaten on a couple massive plays, including long touchdowns to Henry Ruggs and Nelson Agholor.

The defensive line wasn’t very disruptive, and the pass rushers were awfully quiet, as the team registered just one sack. Add this to the fact that linebackers Anthony Hitchens, Ben Niemann, and Damien Wilson continue to struggle with their tackling.

There’s no need to panic about the defense because all they did was confirm what we already know. They’re an average defense that struggles with tackling and defending the run. Nothing about that assessment should be shocking; it was just disappointing to see such a drastic fall-off compared to their first four outings.

Recognizing the deficiencies on defense is not a criticism of Veach and Reid. It’s simply a reminder that this team has positional needs—needs we knew they have. We were just harshly reminded of that today.