The Kansas City Chiefs don't lack for media attention. The back-to-back Super Bowl champions have the best record in the NFL and have played numerous primetime games. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and even head coach Andy Reid can be seen in television ads every time an NFL game is on. Sports media hosts love to pick apart the things that aren't going well for K.C., despite all their success, and social media is overflowing with bitter opposing fans accusing the Chiefs of being lucky or even having the NFL throw games in their favor.
In short, the Chiefs may be the absolute least under-the-radar team in the NFL. However, one year removed from the "In Spags We Trust" movement that the Chiefs rode all the way to a Super Bowl, KC's defensive coordinator has somehow been under-the-radar this season. Yes, there are multiple shots of him on the sideline during the game and the announcers will typically throw a generic compliment his way at some point, but when discussing the Chiefs' chances to win another Super Bowl this season his name is strangely absent from the conversation considering what a massive part of the equation everyone acknowledged him to be just last season.
I THINK the main justification for this is that the Chiefs' defense simply isn't as dominant as they were last season. They were second in all the NFL in points allowed. They were second in the NFL in yards allowed. They were second in the NFL in sacks. While nobody was going to steal the spotlight away from Patrick Mahomes and the Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift romance last year, I would argue that Spagnuolo's defense was higher up on the list of Chiefs talking points last season than even head coach Andy Reid because of how big a part of their success he was. Spagnuolo even earned a hefty contract extension after the season for his role in the dynasty.
This year the Chiefs' defense just isn't the same. It's really taken a big step back, right? You'd certainly think so given how the discourse has changed. Before we continue that line of thinking, let's look at Steve Spagnuolo's six seasons as defensive coordinator in terms of points and yards allowed per game.
- 2019: 19.3 points and 349.6 yards
- 2020: 22.6 points and 358.3 yards
- 2021: 21.4 points and 368.9 yards
- 2022: 21.7 points and 328.2 yards
- 2023: 17.3 points and 289.8 yards
- 2024: 18.5 points and 307.2 yards
So yes, 2023 was Spagnuolo's most dominant defense during his time in K.C., but the 2024 season is a lot closer to 2023 than it is any of the previous four seasons. They are only 1.2 points per game and less than 20 yards per game behind last season. The Chiefs entered Week 16 as the 5th ranked defense in both points and yards allowed in the entire NFL. Yet K.C.'s defense isn't talked about like it's a top-five unit and nobody is talking about Steve Spagnuolo having done a great job again this season.
You can make an argument that what Spagnuolo has done to keep games close without L'Jarius Sneed on the roster and Jaylen Watson injured is just as impressive as what he did last season when they were both healthy along with All-Pro Trent McDuffie. Yes, the pass rush hasn't been as effective through much of the season, but as I recently wrote, it is starting to come around just in time for the playoff push.
Which brings me to my last point. Spagnuolo's defenses have typically peaked going into the playoffs. Chiefs Kingdom got spoiled last season because they were pretty much dominant from wire to wire, but that was certainly the exception, not the norm. Spagnuolo runs a notoriously difficult defense where guys have to know and be able to play multiple spots so that they can change things on the fly to throw off opposing quarterbacks. That's hard for young players to master. There have been frustrating moments throughout the season, but every team has those moments, it's whether the coaches can correct those issues and help their players improve. Spags has a track record of doing just that.
This season the Chiefs have been forced into using a lot of young defensive backs that they didn't have to use last season (they even recently brought back Steven Nelson because of all the defensive back issues). You mix in a slow start for the pass rush and it's understandable there would be a little bit of a drop off, but remember that drop isn't as big as most people think. There's a reason the games have been close enough for the Chiefs to get all these ugly wins: the defense is keeping them close. As the young players get more experience, you would expect they would play better and better like they did in Spagnuolo's earlier seasons in Kansas City.
The bottom line is that last season everyone agreed that Steve Spagnuolo's defensive scheme and the way he called games and took opposing offenses out of their comfort zone was a huge part of KC's Super Bowl-winning season. Spagnuolo is still that guy. He's still the same coach who had his players proudly sporting "In Spags We Trust" shirts before and after games. If this pass rush is more effective rolling into the playoffs and some of their younger defenders continue to improve under his coaching there is every reason to believe that Spagnuolo can still be a major part of another Super Bowl win.
In Spags I still trust and Chiefs Kingdom should too.