Overreaction #4: The defense proves their doubters right
Entering the Packers matchup, the success story of the Chiefs season to date was the resurgent defense. Instead of pre-game Sunday Night Football featurettes about a dynamic offense or Taylor Swift, they focused on Chris Jones and the defensive unit's surprising football. Yet, after Sunday's game, the Chiefs defense should not be scaring anyone anytime soon.
We have talked about what the defense has done this season. They have covered up for a lagging offense more than once. The unit has not been dominant in forcing turnovers or piling up flashy sacks, but they do want defenses to keep opposing offenses off the scoreboard. They have yet to allow a team to score more than 30 points this season, while they averaged only 17.3 points allowed per game. Opponents only score against Kansas City on 28.5% of drives, tied for the second-best in the NFL. That rate flipped on its head against the Packers.
On seven total drives, Green Bay scored on five of them. That comes out to a 71.4% scoring percentage, more than double their season average of 35.4%. Efficient offenses are hard to stop, even if they do not rack up obscene yardage amounts. The Chiefs' defense could not get off the field, and a tired defense is apt to make mistakes.
Injuries absolutely play into this. One can wonder how differently the game would have gone if Tranquil had not exited early or if Nick Bolton was back on the field. That is all hypothetical. The Chiefs' defense that Chiefs Kingdom and the nation saw on primetime should not scare the opposition. They can use this game as motivation and fuel for a dominant stretch to close out the regular season. I hope they do, for the sake of the team's ultimate season.
There are individual performances to be liked on the defensive side of the ball. However, a slightly above-average offense dominated Kansas City for the most part. That fact gives more cause for concern than any offensive takeaway from Sunday.