The Kansas City Chiefs need to figure out their defense. Who is to blame?

After the Kansas City Chiefs game ended and they officially lost to the Oakland Raiders to drop to 5-2 on the season, I sat back and watched some of the mentions on Twitter, the comments on Facebook and in our own comments section.

The most familiar criticism came against Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton.

Why are the Chiefs so bad against the run? Can they find a better option than CB Phillip Gaines, who continues to get torched? Can Terrance Mitchell get some help if they’re going to target him 15 times in a game like the Raiders did? Can the Chiefs get some sort of pass rush?

CAN YOU NOT DROP JUSTIN HOUSTON IN COVERAGE ON THE GAME’S BIGGEST PLAY?

(There are actual reasons for that last one that makes sense but I’m too fired up not to in all caps there)

This was a bad game for the Chiefs defense. It felt a little bit like Deshaun Watson throwing those bombs up in the air and completing them but not doing that in garbage time, doing it when it actually matters.

I don’t know the solution here. Should Sutton have blitzed more? Derek Carr was 9/11 for 132 yards and two touchdowns against the blitz. Should they have blitzed less? Chiefs fans are already saying they don’t get enough pressure.

Again, I don’t know the solution but the Chiefs defense has clearly taken a step back this year. I don’t think you’re talking about firing Bob Sutton here. I know some Chiefs fans are but I’m not. If the Chiefs are this bad at the end of the season and it ends with another one and out then maybe we’re talking. But not right now.

After the Steelers game, you could say, well, they only gave up 19 points. That was true and I was one of those people making that argument even though the defense looked bad last week against the Steelers too. This week? That’s a tougher argument to make.

This defensive unit and this coaching staff has been here for four-plus years now. They can’t keep going backwards defensively. This feels as close as the Andy Reid Chiefs have ever been to being a contender. They need to figure this out. These teams don’t come around all the time.