KC Chiefs vs. Dallas Cowboys: Lessons learned from Week 11
By Matt Conner
Coming into Week 11, both the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs knew they had a real chance to make a significant statement to the rest of the National Football League. With a victory, each team had a real chance to plant a flag in the ground heading into the holiday-laden stretch run as a prime contender finding its stride at the perfect time. The Chiefs answered the call with a decisive 19-9 victory.
With a win on Sunday, the Chiefs moved to 704 while the Cowboys fell to 7-3. In the wake of the big victory in Week 11, the Chiefs will head into the bye with a lot to celebrate yet adjustments to make. We’ll get into some deeper analysis later in the week, but here are some lessons we learned about the Chiefs in Week 11.
Chiefs defense deserves plenty of ink
The defense has been earning more and more respect each and every week, the natural outcome when a unit is allowing just over 15 points per game for a full five-game stretch. However, after watching the Chiefs pull out all the stops against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11, it’s time for the national media to discuss the Chiefs as contenders and to especially give the defense the credit that it deserves.
That begins by pointing to Steve Spagnuolo and congratulating him for getting things right. He said to trust the process and that the guys would turn things around. He said his veterans knew what to do and that they had the leadership to make the changes themselves. Spags’ patient approach was defined by trust, and his players have rewarded him for it.
Meanwhile, Frank Clark and Chris Jones (more on him in a second) are absolutely menacing in the trenches for the Chiefs. L’Jarius Sneed and Tyrann Mathieu might be the best defensive back tandem in the entire game. Nick Bolton is growing with each new week, and the Chiefs defense is getting it done on every level. They didn’t allow a single touchdown and came away with five sacks and two turnovers.
We’ve not even mentioned a host of supporting players who deserve plenty of credit, but we’ll write about them in good time. For now, the Chiefs defense as a whole deserves to be celebrated for yet another dominant effort.