Chiefs are 4-0, but what's up with their defensive lapses on opening drives?

Blair Kerkhoff, The Kansas City Star on Oct 6, 2024

Published in Football

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For a 4-0 team, the Chiefs haven’t made a very good first impression on defense.

Opponents have scored on the opening possession of every game this season. Three touchdowns and a field goal have put the Chiefs in an early hole in each game they’ve played since winning the Super Bowl.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said the common denominator is simply that his defense hasn’t been good enough at the start of those games.

“We’re giving up too many points,” he said. “Somewhere in there we have to get a third-down stop.”

Surrendering third-down conversations is always troubling for a defense, and the Chiefs’ next opponent — the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football — excels on third down. They’re ranked second in the NFL for converting such opportunities (53.19% on third down).

Then again, since Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens converted a pair of third-and-long opportunities on the first drive of the season, the Chiefs really haven’t faced many of those situations.

They stopped a pair of third-down plays against Cincinnati in Week 2. But on fourth down, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow completed a pass for a first down, and a second Cincy third down resulted in a field goal.

The Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers each converted one third-and-short on their opening drives.

The constant shared by all four of the opponents’ opening drives? Each was a lengthy possession of at least 66 yards, lasting four-plus minutes.

Spagnuolo credits the opponents’ game plans, while defensive end George Karlafis believes the remedy is well within the Chiefs’ grasp.

“We’d like to start games a little better, but we just need to tighten up the screws a little and be on our (game) from the get-go,” Karlaftis said.

The Chiefs rank around the middle of the NFL pack in some other notable defensive categories. For instance, they’re tied for 15th in yards allowed per game (326.8) and rank 18th in yards per play (5.36).

They’ve fared better in rushing yards allowed per game (99.0, eighth-best league-wide) and points per game (18.0, seventh). In fact, they haven’t allowed a 30-point game since beating the Philadelphia Eagles two seasons ago in Super Bowl LVII.

The Chiefs obviously don’t want to keep playing from an early deficit, but having to rally hasn’t damaged their bottom line. The defending champions, along with the Minnesota Vikings, are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the NFL this season.

And the Kansas City defense has come up huge at critical junctures during each game this fall. Defensive back Chamarri Conner’s fumble return for a touchdown against the Bengals — after defensive linemen Tershawn Wharton and Mike Danna had sacked Burrow to pop loose the ball — gave the Chiefs a fourth-quarter lead.

And Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton’s fourth-down stop of Falcons running back Bijan Robinson for a 3-yard loss sealed the Chiefs’ victory in Atlanta.

Last week, Chris Jones’ second sack of Justin Herbert forced the Chargers to punt late in the fourth quarter. That enabled the Chiefs to run out the clock. Jones was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his best effort to date this season.

Jones has turned in his share of big plays already this year, especially in the second half. He’d like to see the Chiefs play well defensively from wire to wire in games to come.

“I’d like to start as fast as we finish,” he said.

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