The offense for the Kansas City Chiefs has been a little lackluster at it’s best. The team ranks 17th in points scored and 22nd in total yards of offense. So far on the season the team has seven touchdowns, two of which were scored by the defense. Despite the shortcomings of the offense, the Chiefs have managed to look respectable for the most part due to exquisite play on the defensive side of the ball.
The Kansas City Chiefs Defense Is Special
In the third week of football the New York Jets headed to Arrowhead Stadium hot. They had just put up 37 point against the Buffalo Bills. They were expecting to continue on the momentum but instead, the Chiefs defense slammed into them like a brick wall. The stats were absolutely insane.
For starters, Ryan Fitzpatrick looked to be throwing to the other team. The defense deflected 14 passes and intercepted six on top of it. Yes, that number was real. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw the ball to the Chiefs defense a whopping half dozen times. He threw more touchdowns to the Chiefs than to his receivers. Chiefs stud middle linebacker Derrick Johnson took one of the picks 55 yards to the house. Johnson also racked up 11 tackles and a pair of pass deflections on his way to a very good day. Eric Berry was another big contributor, coming up with three deflections and clutch interception in the end zone to hold the Jets without a touchdown.
Perhaps the most impressive player on this defense so far is Marcus Peters. The second year star corner netted a pair of deflections and a pair of interceptions against the Jets. With four picks and eight deflections already on the season, Peters is proving to be a major ballhawk. He has quietly transcended into perhaps the most dangerous corner in football, showing ball skills the likes of which the league seen since Deion Sanders. The hands, instincts, and football IQ of this young corner are all off the charts.
It’s Not Just One Week
Last year the Kansas City Chiefs were a team that made the playoffs and came away victorious from that first game 30-0. In the second game of the season they suffered an embarrassing loss to the Houston Texans, the very team they had blown out. Alex Smith looked bad. Spencer Ware looked bad. Yet even in that game, there was still a reason for fan to be proud of this team. The defense broke up seven passes and intercepted two. They did not make Brock Osweiler look good. Along with these plays on the ball, they sacked the quarterback twice and got three tackles for loss. Even though the Texans held their offense in check, the Chiefs defense put up a very solid and respectable performance.
In the other two games played this season, the defense continued to look respectable. Against the San Diego Chargers they came through in the clutch and got the job done. The defense broke up three passes and brought down Phillip Rivers for a sack. They had another pair of tackles on a ball carrier behind the line as well.
The Pittsburgh Steelers blew out the Chiefs last week. This was for one reason: Antonio Brown. The inexperienced young corners opposite Marcus Peters could not contain him. Brown very scarcely lined up across from Peters throughout that game and the quarterback did not target him when he did. The work behind the line was rock-solid despite the inexperienced members of the secondary being burned. The defense sacked Ben Roethlisberger twice and took down ball carriers for a loss on three more occasions.
