Chiefs defense faces a troubling trend despite being regarded as an elite unit

We've reached the midway point of the NFL's regular season, and the Kansas City Chiefs remain the league's lone unbeaten team at 9-0. On Sunday afternoon, Kansas City narrowly escaped a loss to the division rival Denver Broncos.

As it stands, the Chiefs hold a two-game lead over the AFC's top teams. This weekend, they’ll head to Orchard Park to face the 8-2 Buffalo Bills in what's arguably their most important game of the regular season. Chiefs Kingdom should be heartened by their control over their own destiny in Week 10, but a tough conversation is looming about this defense.

Right now, Kansas City's defense ranks 26th in the league in sacks, with just 19 on the season. Over the same nine-game stretch in 2023, the Chiefs had amassed 31 sacks. To further put that into perspective, Charles Omenihu did not play until Week 7 and Chris Jones missed the season opener during his holdout. Year over year, the Chiefs are a far less productive pass-rushing defense.

That's especially disturbing when you consider the injury of starting cornerback Jaylen Watson (out indefinitely with a fractured ankle). In a since-deleted tweet, Watson created a glimmer of hope that he might not be sidelined for the remainder of the season, but the timetable for his return is still unknown.

What's the problem with this unit? The Chiefs appear to have the pieces to field a consistent pass rush, but pressure's been hard to come by. One could argue that it's a combination of injuries and slow starts for key members of Kansas City's defensive front. Omenihu's still trying to shake back from a torn ACL he sustained in the AFC Championship Game. Mike Danna has missed multiple starts due to a pectoral issue. Superstar defensive tackle Chris Jones has not recorded a sack since Week 4. Second-year man Felix Anudike-Uzomah has seen an uptick in snap share, but Kansas City's former first-round pick has yet to make a real impact on this defense.

In the run-up to the NFL's trade deadline, Kansas City acquired Joshua Uche from the New England Patriots for a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Thus far, there have been no returns on that transaction. It might be helpful for fans to note that Uche is not a multi-down defender. To date, he's logged just 20 snaps in two games since joining the Chiefs, and he's unlikely to become more than a situational pass rusher in Kansas City. I would not discount his ability to provide more meaningful snaps in the near future, but he simply won't be a consistent answer to the Chiefs' pass-rushing problem from down to down.

There are positive signs. Recently, George Karlaftis has notched a sack in three of Kansas City's last four contests. He's also turned in five quarterback hits over that span. Regrettably, that hasn't been enough for Kansas City. The defense is currently leading the league in third-down blitz rate at 52% and Top 3 on fourth down at 88.9%. Some of that is by design, but it's also been partly out of necessity. Denver's rookie quarterback Bo Nix was dumped twice in Sunday's contest by cornerback Nazeeh Johnson and linebacker Nick Bolton, but both sacks came on defensive blitzes. Nix was rarely under duress and logged one of his best games of the season completing 73% of his passes and tossing two touchdowns (good for a 115.3 rating on the day).

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid had this to say about the return of Charles Omenihu, “We are taking it week by week and day by day. That whole deal. We’ve got to work through the doctors on that and the checkups there. They’re both doing great (Isiah Pacheco and Charles Omenihu). They’re both making progress. JuJu the same way. We’re getting close, but I don’t think this week. No. I don’t think so.” When the five-year veteran returns, the defense will have a real shot at consistently generating pressure with four.

For now, the defense will continue to rely on the ingenuity of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, but the time will come when Kansas City will have to create pressure with four. Hopefully, the Chiefs will get Omenihu back before the end of the month. Sunday will provide a big test to determine how well the defense holds up against one of the league's top quarterbacks. This weekend's tilt with the Bills will be the closest approximation to a postseason matchup possible this side of January. Can the defensive front make Josh Allen uncomfortable or will the Chiefs have to send extra defenders exposing the back half of the unit? If they cannot get home with four, the pass defense could be in for a long day.