With a tough stretch coming for Kansas City, the defense was able to show out against the Packers last Sunday.
When most of the football world heard Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to play against the Chiefs, there were groans and sighs as they knew Jordan Love wasn’t going to be as good. Green Bay came out flat and played flat, but it wasn’t due to their inexperienced quarterback, it was due to how well the Chiefs’ defense was able to play.
The Chiefs’ defense was able to pin its ears back, rush, and hit all Sunday afternoon, they seemed ready for this challenge. They played physical all afternoon and it really helped to build a lot of confidence as they head towards tougher opponents in the future. Chris Jones thrived being back on the interior of the defensive line, creating pressure and wreaking havoc on the Packers’ offensive line.
It really helped to have Melvin Ingram in the rotation, who really had a solid debut as a Chief, he was pushing the pocket and making Jordan Love uncomfortable the entire game. Ingram’s expertise as a speed rusher really made him invaluable to the Chiefs who have needed that type of pressure all year. Ingram’s presence even enhanced the plays made by Frank Clark who looked unstoppable off the edge.
I haven’t even talked about the linebackers and secondary yet, who were making big plays throughout the game. Nick Bolton and Willie Gay are exceptional when they play together and they were flying around the field. Sneed was unbelievable and was able to make this amazing play over Davante Adams.
The defense is starting to get into shape right now, they finally were able to do a lot of the zone-blitzes they love to run and were able to generate a lot of pressure against a really talented unseasoned quarterback. They need to fix a lot of issues, but this was a week in which they can hang their head pretty high, they still gave up big runs and some plays but were able to make key stops throughout the game.
The defense will need to play better as they head towards the bottom half of the season where they are going to have to play a lot of really talented teams. They still have to play the Steelers, Raiders (twice), Broncos (twice), the Chargers, and Cowboys. All of those teams are at or above .500 and are trying to contend for a playoff spot, the Chiefs should not take any of these teams lightly and if the defense can get some momentum as they head down this tough stretch, they should be in a great position to get back into the postseason.
