Playoffs will be make or break for Steve Spagnuolo and Chiefs defense

Steve Spagnuolo did not look like he was going to make it to next season through the first several weeks of the 2021 season as the Kansas City Chiefs were historically bad in several metrics including yards given up per play and points per game. The lows were the lowest they had been in the entire Spagnuolo area.

Turning that defense around was something that theoretically would have taken an offseason of turnover and improvement. Miraculously, the Defense would dig themselves out of the massive hole and start holding teams to 13 PPG during their 8-game win streak.

The defense obviously took everything coming together to reach that point. The pass rush stepped up, the tackling got better, the linebackers got the athleticism they needed with Willie Gay returning, etc. Players that weren’t playing well before simply brushed up on whatever it was they were doing before.

Spagnulo deserved credit, too. For the first portion of the season, the defense struggled to even lineup before the snap. Not knowing where to even set up is obviously an advantage for the offense every single time. Spagnuolo was able to eventually get his players to master the defense and work to the best of their ability.

The defense will make or break Steve Spagnuolo and the defense

Most would probably say Spagnuolo saved his job with the way the defense has risen to the occasion and was repaired before things hit rock bottom.

The job was impressive, no doubt. However, the defense seems to have cooled off over the last couple of weeks. They had a rough game against the Bengals, giving up 34 points, which ended their win streak and relinquished the No. 1 seed. Then the defense looks flat-out lazy against the Denver Broncos. That could’ve been because the Chiefs didn’t want to do more than they had to, sure, but given the points we’ve seen this defense stoop to in the past, it does leave some cause for concern.

That leaves the postseason as a make-or-break stretch for Spagnuolo and the defense. You got to this point because of the defense and for the first time in Patrick Mahomes‘ career, he could actually lean on the defense. If that all comes to a screeching halt at this point in the season then what would the results be? Do the Chiefs make it back to the Super Bowl?

If we get a complete defensive meltdown does Spagnuolo stick around for another year? Spagnuolo is a good defensive coordinator but Chiefs fans know he has a few fatal flaws that hold the defense back just a little bit. His personnel decisions and ability to make adjustments will go a long way in deciding what happens.

Spagnuolo has talked about wanting to be a head coach again one day. If he has any true aspirations of doing that he’ll need to display that potential in the best way possible this postseason and the defense as a whole will need to show out to give the team the best possible chance to win and deliver the type of performance that could lead to him achieving his career goals.