The Kansas City Chiefs defense is off to a strong start, there's no doubt about that. We looked at some very basic numbers that suggest this is one of the better starts for the Chiefs defense in recent memory. Of course, it's only two games and there's plenty that can change when we're talking about a small sample size.
One of the things that seemed to consistently beat the Chiefs in 2009 was big plays (Miles Austin says thanks for the paycheck). That's one part of the Chiefs defense that hasn't changed much.
They're tied for sixth in the NFL with eight passes of 20 yards or more given up. The Washington Redskins defense leads the pack with 12. They're tied for first in the NFL the most 40 yard passes (3) given up.
The Chiefs defense has given up four touchdowns including 65 and 59-yard touchdown passes.
That's a pretty interesting stat for the defense. A few of the players we've talked to have called it a bend-but-don't-break type of defense and the numbers would support that -- bending with the big plays but not breaking by giving up the points.
At some point, I feel pretty confident that the rookie safeties will improve to the point where those big plays simply don't happen at the same rate. They both seem to be picking things up pretty quickly so I'd imagine that the big play number would decrease as the season goes on.
What do you think about the Chiefs winning despite the big plays?