One of the NFL's hottest topics in recent weeks has been, "What is wrong with the Kansas City Chiefs?" To my surprise, it seems that most analysts place the brunt of the blame on the team's offense - more specifically, quarterback Patrick Mahomes. They tend to then rebut dissenters by saying, "Their defense has always been bad! What they had was an offense that could compensate for it!"
They're partially right, but not telling the whole story. The Chiefs offense needs some work. The offensive line ranks as one of the worst (if not the worst) in all of football. They've all but abandoned the run game. They're still trying to find that third go-to target in the passing game, outside of Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. In addition to that, Patrick Mahomes has thrown 3-4 of the worst interceptions I can ever remember seeing. Having said that, the offense isn't the biggest concern for Andy Reid and company.
Ever since Mahomes has taken over as starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, the team has made a deep playoff run. In his first season (2018), they advanced to the AFC Championship game. They were Super Bowl champions in 2019 and the runner-up in 2020. The defense was never elite in those three postseason runs, but they were never this bad. Out of 32 teams, the Chiefs ranked an average of 23rd among these four categories in 2018: yards allowed per play, pass yards per attempt, rush yards per carry, and points allowed per game. In their Super Bowl year, that number improved to 14th. Last year, it decreased slightly to 17th. So, out of 32 teams, the Kansas City Chiefs defense averaged to rank 18th over the past 3 seasons - so a little below the halfway point. This year? That number is 29th. They are near or at dead last in all four categories. Total yards allowed per play? 32nd (6.6 p/). Pass yards per attempt? 30th (8.0 p/). Rush yards per carry? 27th (4.7 p/). Points allowed per game? 27th (29.0).
The Kansas City Chiefs are allowing nearly 30 points per game, almost a first down on every pass attempt (not completion, attempt), close to 7 yards a play, and close to half a first down per rush. I don't care how good an offense is, you're not going to win many games with a defense THAT bad. The offense definitely needs to make some adjustments, but guess what? To this point, they haven't been afforded the time to do so. It's hard to work in a run game when the defense gives up two early touchdowns. It's difficult to not feel added pressure to score on every possession due to this, which leads to an increase in penalties and turnovers. The line needs to better protect Mahomes; he needs to stop forcing balls that aren't there; and Reid needs to work in a run game to give the defense a breather every now and again, but the onus of this 3-4 record is on the defense - arguably the worst in all of football. The Chiefs defense may not have ever been great these past 4 seasons, but there's a stark difference between middle-of-the-pack and dead last.
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