Since Steve Spagnulo took over as defensive coordinator in 2019, the Kansas City Chiefs’ ability to hold up against opposing rushing attacks has not been prominent in recent memory. Although his teams tend to show resurgence late in the season going into the postseason, finding the pieces to put together a consistent run defense that can gain penetration at the line, clog rushing lanes, and hold the ball carrier to minimal gains has been a more challenging task than one would think – until now.
Despite winning the Super Bowl at the end of the 2019 season, the Chiefs’ run defense finished 26th in the league. In the two seasons that followed, Kansas City only improved by a hair – finishing 21st in 2020 and 2021.
Through four regular season games, Kansas City’s run defense currently ranks as the best in the NFL. In 79 combined rushing attempts the Chiefs have faced so far this year, Spag’s defense has allowed just 263 yards, the lowest sum allowed in the NFL. Additionally, Kansas City has allowed an average of 3.3 yards per rush, ranking as the league’s third-best.
A significant contributor to the team’s defensive turnaround this season has been second-year linebacker Nick Bolton, who has a nose for the football so far. The former Missouri star currently leads the Chiefs with 37 total tackles.
The defensive line has also displayed the ability to gain penetration and stuff running lanes, making things very difficult for opposing running backs. At the beginning of the season, Kansas City limited the Arizona Cardinals to 103 total yards on the ground. They followed that up by allowing the Chargers to rush for 75 combined yards – Austin Ekler was held to 39 yards on 14 attempts. In week 3, Colts RB Jonathan Taylor rushed the ball 21 times for just 71 yards.
Last week, the Chiefs avenged their Super Bowl LV loss by completely dominating the Buccaneers, 41-31, on Sunday Night Football. Running back Leonard Fournette rushed for 89 yards and a score against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl two years ago. In Week 4, however, he was ineffective, finishing with -3 yards after touching the ball three times. Tampa Bay ran the ball a total of six times for a gain of just 3 yards.
Since Steve Spagnuolo took over as the Chiefs’ DC, stopping the run has been an issue for the Chiefs in the past, but things appear to be on a new trend as the team’s front seven has done an outstanding job keeping their opponent in front of them through the first quarter of the season.
This week, the Chiefs will face a familiar foe when Josh Jacobs and the Las Vegas come to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on October 10.
