Five Good Stats From The First-Place Kansas City Chiefs Victory

The Kansas City Chiefs are 2-0 and sitting atop first place in the AFC West after two weeks of the 2010 NFL season. You all knew that but it's still nice to hear that.

The Chiefs 16-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns wasn't pretty but there were still some good things to come out of the game, namely the defense.

Here are five good stats on the defense, special teams and, yes, the offense.

That run defense

The Chiefs gave up just 73 yards rushing the ball. This comes after last year's 286-yard debacle courtesy of Jerome Harrison. The Chiefs essentially shut Harrison down for 33 yards on 16 carries. Peyton Hillis sliced the Chiefs a couple of times but still only garnered 35 yards rushing.

However you cut it, this Chiefs defense is much better and the run stoppers have a lot to do with that.

This was the best Chiefs run defense performance since Sept. 20, 2009.

Third downs improve

The Chiefs were a miserable 1-of-11 on third downs last week in the win over the San Diego Chargers. This week that was much improved as the Chiefs went 5-of-15. Not perfect but not bottom-feeder either.

The Chiefs converted a few of those third downs on two drives that went over 10 plays and 60 yards each. That's improvement for the Chiefs.

Defense continues to create turnovers

If you'll rewind back to the preseason, one of my biggest concerns was the lack of turnovers. The Chiefs didn't create a turnover in the first three games and only one in the final game. Sure, the defense was playing well but there weren't any big plays to go along with that.

The Chiefs created two turnovers on Sunday -- interception and a fumble -- and just as importantly turned those into 10 points.

With the offense playing the way it is, the Chiefs will need turnovers from the defense to continue sitting atop the AFC West.

Tony Moeaki shows up, again

Your Kansas City Chiefs leading receiver....rookie tight end Tony Moeaki.

He caught five balls for 58 yards on Sunday after catching three and a touchdown in week one. Clearly, Moeaki is going to be a big part of this offense moving forward.

What's even more impressive about his performance is that he was largely invisible during the preseason. This is a great development for the Chiefs.

Punt and kick return coverage steps up again

In two straight weeks, the Chiefs have faced two of the league's top returners -- Darren Sproles and Josh Cribbs.

And for two straight weeks, the Chiefs have essentially shut them down. Cribbs, one of the bigger parts of the Browns' ability to score, had a big touchdown catch but was basically shut out in the return game. He wasn't able to do anything and, for the second straight week, the Chiefs eliminated the chances of a special teams score.

Considering Cribbs' game against the Chiefs last year, this is a major victory.