3 overreactions to Kansas City Chiefs' first win this season

Ahhhh, it feels good to be on top. Well, of the AFC West. And tied with the Las Vegas Raiders at that. Listen, not everything is perfect for the Kansas City Chiefs right now. I am sure the flight home after a 17-9 win in Jacksonville was acutely uncomfortable, but the Chiefs left victorious nonetheless.

Week 2 was far from a banner victory for Kansas City. The offense struggled to find its rhythm, with only one touchdown and multiple missed opportunities. Additionally, the defense had a couple of lapses, allowing the Jaguars to sustain long drives. However, a win is a win, and the Chiefs will surely use this game as a learning experience to improve in the upcoming weeks.

“You had 12 penalties, you had [two] turnovers," head coach Andy Reid said on Monday. "You can’t do that, and normally come out with a win. You figure that out and we straighten it out, we should be OK. I think as you look it, the players look at it — and I listened to them talk, things are there. You look at it on tape, things are there."

Reid is right; there are good things when reviewing the tape. Isiah Pacheco looked exceptional in Week 2, more like the Chiefs' top running back. George Karlaftis is having the opposite of a sophomore slump, sacking Trevor Lawrence twice and totaling five pressures. The individual performances are there, but the team as a whole is struggling to find consistency.

There is less time for the team and fans alike to reflect on what went wrong in the previous game before moving on to the next one. Let's close the Jacksonville Jaguars chapter with some overreactions, shall we?

1. The Chiefs defense is a top-five unit in the NFL.

Chiefs fans are not used to a top-10 defensive unit, much less what they are seeing so far this season. Kansas City has only allowed 30 points so far this season and only 1 touchdown. The defense kept the Chiefs competitive in Week 1 and certainly contributed more to the Week 2 win than their offensive counterparts.

The pass rush came from everywhere, with ten different players contributing to 24 total pressures on Trevor Lawrence. Sure, the limited return on Chris Jones played a part in the success, but the entire defensive unit deserves credit for generating 4 sacks and 7 hits on Lawrence. They were relentless in their pursuit of the quarterback and made life difficult for Lawrence all game long.

The Jaguars are a pass-first offense, but the Chiefs bottled up an explosive rushing game as well. Travis Ettiene was held to minimal yardage and struggled to find running lanes. He only had 40 yards on the ground in 12 attempts, averaging just over 3 yards per carry.

"[Defensive coordinaor Steve Spagnuolo] has set up and put the guys in great position," Reid said. "Then the guys have an energy and a confidence that wasn’t there with all the young guys last year. We didn’t really know what the secondary was going to be, and the guys have — they’re figuring it out. They figured it out at training camp, and they’ve figured it out here in these two games, with good communication in that. I like the physical part of it."

All that together leads to a Chiefs team not winning despite their offense, but because of it. The unit, starting off the season with two respective division favorites, has allowed the opposition to score 22.7% of the time. That's third-best among all NFL teams, highlighting their strong defensive performance. The Chiefs' defense has been successful in shutting down opposing offenses and limiting their scoring opportunities. This solid defensive effort has been a key factor in the team's overall success, despite their offensive struggles.

All that to say this: there is nothing I see on the field right now that makes me this unit is not one of the best in the league. The Chiefs defense went against two of the most hyped offenses and kept them well in check. Now, with Chris Jones back on the field, anything seems possible if this unit stays healthy. The bend-don't-break approach can be nerve wracking to watch, but it is producing great results two gaems into the season.