The Kansas City Chiefs come into their Monday Night Football matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles in a very different place than they were when these two teams last played in Super Bowl LVII. That game was a frantic fight to the finish, and a 38-35 game in Kansas City’s favor.
The successful game flow very much fit what the 2022 Chiefs were. That was a team that finished first in Offensive DVOA, and 14th in Defensive DVOA. The plan with this team was always, have the defense be good enough, and the offense will take care of the rest.
Now, things have changed. Decidedly. The 2023 Chiefs rank sixth in Offensive DVOA, and fourth in Defensive DVOA, and when you watch Kansas City’s offense… well, it ain’t all that.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, now in his fifth season with the team, now has the defense he’s always wanted — and any other defensive coordinator would envy. We saw flashes of it late in the 2022 season, when everything started to come together with a lot of young talent, and it’s been amplified through the 2023 season’s first 10 weeks. This unit has allowed the NFL’s fourth-fewest yards and the second-fewest points, and that’s what you want.
In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) get into why this Chiefs defense isn’t just the force multiplier for the defending NFL champs — but the kind of defense that can throw some serious stuff at any offense it faces.
You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar” right here:
You can also subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…
…and on Apple Podcasts.
Now, let’s detail why this defense is so dynamic right now.
