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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
John Dillon

Chiefs led NFL in unblocked QB pressures during 2023 regular season

The Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive turnaround in 2023 was as impressive as it was surprising to many fans who grew accustomed to the team’s offense-first approach in the Patrick Mahomes era.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo managed to change the narrative around his unit this season, and the Chiefs’ ferocious pass rush played an integral role in making Kansas City’s defense a menacing force in the AFC.

According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats Twitter page, Spagnuolo’s innovative schemes in 2023 generated the most unblocked quarterback pressures in the league.

While the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots came close to matching Kansas City’s 73 unblocked pressures, the Chiefs stood atop the NFL’s leaderboard in the category at season’s end.

Hassling opposing quarterbacks always serves to bolster a defense’s firepower in key moments, and Spagnuolo should be expected to continue leveraging his ability to get blitzers clear lanes to the backfield against the Buffalo Bills this weekend.

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