Stefon Diggs was absolutely smothered by the Chiefs in 2023

If we wanted to play around with words, we could say this is a Dig(g) on Stefon. If we wanted to play with numbers, we don't need to say anything else, since the pathetic production of Stefon Diggs against the Kansas City Chiefs this season speaks for itself.

Steve Spagnuolo's defense is all the rage these days, as it should be, and the secondary in particular was the unit that carried this team the farthest in 2023. The team's pass defense, anchored by cornerbacks L'Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie, made a lot of pass catchers look foolish this past season—a long list of the NFL's biggest names were embarrassed by this squad—but none so much as Diggs.

Getting into the numbers in the aftermath of the season was a total shock. The Buffalo Bills split a season series against the Chiefs with one win apiece, although the Chiefs got the more meaningful one when they ousted the Bills in the Divisional Round of the postseason. While other receivers were able to at least put up something, however, Diggs came up remarkably short.

The Chiefs defense did a number on a lot of receivers but nothing so masterful as the job on Stefon Diggs.

On the surface, Diggs enjoyed another strong season for the Bills with marks of 107 catches for 1,183 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns. Not only did he put up his sixth consecutive season with 1,000 yards receiving or more, but he also made his fourth straight Pro Bowl in 2023. However, under the hood, things started to look worse in the season's second half—and considerably worse against the Chiefs in both games.

In Diggs' first game against the Chiefs in Week XXXX, Josh Allen targeted him 11 times but he caught only 4 of those passes for 24 yards. In the postseason, Allen sent him another 8 targets, but Diggs came away with only 3 catches for 21 yards. He had zero touchdowns in both games and totaled 45 yards.

For perspective, both Mecole Hardman and Justin Watson had more receiving yards in the Super Bowl than Diggs did in two games against the Chiefs last season.

This isn't just about Stefon Diggs. This is the same storyline that the Chiefs' defense brought to games against Justin Jefferson or Ja'Marr Chase or A.J. Brown and so many others. It's just that Diggs is the perfect specimen by which to tell that story, to showcase just how effective McDuffie and Sneed (and company) were locking down the opponent's best weapons.

However, it might help Stefon to know that if he feels bad about this season's performances, he was even worse in his last postseason matchup against the Chiefs when he caught 3 passes for 7 yards two years ago. I mean, that's something, right?