Chiefs pass rush needs to improve against Tom Brady and Buccaneers

Lack of a third rusher, injuries, and inconsistency

Outside of Frank Clark and Chris Jones, the Chiefs lack a viable, consistent pass rusher. Even those two have yet to provide consistency over the past month. Jones leads the team with 5.5 sacks on the year, while Clark comes in second with four. Out of those 9.5 sacks in 2020, a combined three sacks have come between Week 5 and Week 11—less than ideal when Kansas City is paying the duo north of $34 million in 2020.

Not all of the blame can be put on those two, however. Without a third rusher that offenses have to account for consistently, Jones and Clark find themselves getting all of the attention. Tanoh Kpassagnon has yet to show any growth from his 2019 campaign rushing the passer. Taco Charlton and Alex Okafor showed flashes early in the season of true talent, but it wasn’t consistent enough to warrant attention.

Injuries along the defensive line have also played a massive role. Without the ability to have a rotation, players like Clark and Jones play a hefty number of snaps. Against the Raiders in Week 11, Clark was on the field for 92 percent of the defensive snaps. In seven games this season, he has been on the field for north of 80 percent of the reps. Jones has seen four games over 80 percent, and all but one over 70 percent.

Due to the injuries that have continued to pile up in 2020, the Chiefs lack the ability to give their top two rushers a chance to catch their breath. It’s hard to get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks when you play almost all of the defensive snaps. On top of that, Jones and Clark have been dealing with their own injuries. Jones missed one game with a groin injury earlier in the season, and Clark was questionable to play against the Panthers due to a swollen knee.

We haven’t heard much about Clark dealing with injuries, but that doesn’t mean that he is 100 percent, as we learned in 2019. The report of his knee swelling up has been the only indication that he might be dealing with something in 2020. If the star defensive end is dealing with a knee injury, it will make a lot more sense.

When evaluating Clark after his signing with the Chiefs, one of his best pass rush moves was his speed up the arc and converting to power with a long-arm bull rush. His mix of speed and power made him extremely difficult to contain consistently. In 2020, we haven’t seen as much of the power counters. Most of his work has been working up the arc on speed rushes.

If Clark is dealing with an injury in his knee, it would explain the lack of power moves from him this season. Outside of the Raiders, opposing offenses have done well to get the ball out quickly against Kansas City, giving another reason we could be seeing less of his bull rush.

Without a third presence rushing the passer, opposing quarterbacks will continue to work away from Clark and Jones. In fact, Clark is left in the role of doing the dirty work of pressuring quarterbacks into other pass rushers. Unfortunately, no one has stepped up and taken advantage of it or provided him with the same help from the other side.