clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Kansas City Chiefs can win a lot of games with their defense playing this well

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Remember when we were worried about the Kansas City Chiefs defense? I still get a little nervous now and again but step back and look at what they've done.

The Chiefs had a stretch in the first month of the season giving up 30-plus points in three straight games. We wanted Bob Sutton fired. The season was down the drain. Everything we knew about the Chiefs was wrong.

And then the defense seemed to figure it out. In the last four games, the Chiefs have given up 18, 16, 13 and 10 points. That's an average of 14 points per game. The Chiefs will win a TON of games if they're giving up just 14 points per game.

"Bob [Sutton] has done a nice job," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after the 45-10 victory over the Lions on Sunday. "I think the players have upped it. They're flying around. They seem to have great communication out there. They're in attack mode. Not that you're not going to get beat once in a while. That's going to happen in this league. You're playing against great players, the best in the world. But they keep battling. They're not letting things get them down at all. Someone makes a big play, they rally back and then someone else steps up and makes a play."

When the Chiefs pass rush is working, they are a tough team to beat. Really tough. That's when the turnovers come and when the Chiefs are getting pressure and creating turnovers they are at their best.

Sure, it's fair to point out that the Lions are a bad team and the Steelers had a third string quarterback. But as it turns out, there are a lot of bad teams in the NFL. Beating the bad teams can get you 10 wins a year, as the Chiefs learned in the previous two seasons.

NEW: Join Arrowhead Pride Premier

If you love Arrowhead Pride, you won’t want to miss Pete Sweeney in your inbox each week as he delivers deep analysis and insights on the Chiefs' path to the Super Bowl.