Chiefs are now defined by defense, not offense

The Kansas City Chiefs won their fifth game in a row on Thursday night to strengthen their hold on the AFC West and continuing to be one of the top teams in the NFL.

Based on what we have seen from the Chiefs during the Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes era, nothing about that success is a surprise. 

What might be a surprise is how the Chiefs are finding that success.

It is not the offense that is leading the charge, it is the defense. 

In this era of "offensive is everything," no team has been at the forefront of creativity, innovation and scoring more than the Chiefs. They have consistently been one of the toughest teams to stop and have always been a threat to score 30 or 40 points in any given game. But since the end of last season, and especially through the first six games of this season, that offense has taken a pretty big step backward.

The defense has been there to pick up the slack. After Thursday's win where they allowed the Broncos to just eight points, the Chiefs are allowing just 14.7 points per game (second best in the NFL) and allowing just 284 yards per game (fifth best in the NFL). It is an incredibly fast defense that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has playing aggressive, dominant football. Now that Chris Jones is back in the lineup, they also have their biggest game-changer in the middle of the field making an impact. 

This is not to say the Chiefs offense has been bad. It just hasn't been what we have come to expect. Over their past 11 games dating back to last season (including playoffs), the Chiefs have topped the 30-point mark in just three of those games, and in six of those games have failed to score more than 24 points. Their only game with more than 27 points this season was a 41-point outburst against the Chicago Bears.

They are still sixth in total yards per game, but after Thursday's contest, they are ninth in points per game. While that would be a perfectly fine ranking for most teams, it would be the Chiefs' lowest ranking since the 2016 season. They have not finished lower than sixth since then. 

Part of the step backward this season has been the major overhaul at wide receiver the past couple of years and the struggle to find consistency there, as well as the injury issues for tight Travis Kelce so far. As long as they have Mahomes, they are always going to have a chance to put points on the board. But this year's defensive play is giving them an entirely different dimension and the ability to still win games even when the offense is not at its best.