History says Chiefs fans shouldn’t panic after sluggish Spags debut

The Kansas City Chiefs got off to a disappointing start to the season on Friday night when they lost 27-21 to the Los Angeles Chargers. On offense, it once again felt like Patrick Mahomes didn't get enough help from his supporting cast, but people were also disappointed in Steve Spagnuolo's defense. The good news for Chiefs fans is that Spagnuolo's units typically finish much stronger than they start.

While there were clear winners and losers in this game, if you spent any time scrolling social media after the Chiefs’ Week One loss, there was plenty of frustration with KC's defensive performance. That's understandable given that Justin Herbert pretty much had his way with the Chiefs, going 25-34 for 318 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 32 yards, including a back-breaking third-and-long scramble to ice the game.

Steve Spagnuolo builds his defense over the season, saving the best for when it matters, but that often means slow starts.

KC's defense had two major issues on the night. The first was their inability to naturally get pressure with their front four. The other was in coverage, where it felt like receivers were running open all night long. You combine those two things and it's no wonder that Herbert had a great night. It is certainly fair to criticize this performance, but fans shouldn't hit the panic button yet.

Steve Spagnuolo is a defensive coordinator who is known for adding more and more to his scheme and demands on his players as the season goes on. He is continuously teaching throughout the year. Consequently, what the Chiefs are doing on defense in December and January is usually more effective than what they are doing in September.

Part of this is due to Spagnuolo needing time to teach everything and get new players acclimated to his system, but there is also a strategic element to it. Both Andy Reid and Spags are known for not wanting to put all their best stuff on tape early in the season and prefer to wait until the games really matter. This is an organization that believes they will be playing for Super Bowls late in the season, so they aren't breaking out the full bag of tricks in Week One.

As a prime example, Steve Spagnuolo has been Kansas City's defensive coordinator for seven seasons. In that span of time, his defense has finished in the top ten of scoring defenses six times, including three top-five finishes. However, they have never held a team below 20 points in Week 1. In fact, in the first four weeks of the season, Spagnuolo's defenses have only held teams below 20 points in 6 of their 28 games through seven seasons.

Again, these are defenses that finish in the top ten in points allowed, but they just don't shut people down early. We've seen it again and again. The Chiefs’ points allowed in the first week of the season have ranged between 20 and 29 every year that Spagnuolo has been the coordinator. The Chargers put up 27. So basically, business as usual for the defense in Week One.

There may not be a better example of this than looking at the Chiefs' Week 1 points allowed compared to their points allowed in their first playoff games. In their Week 1 games, K.C. gives up an average of 24 points. In their first playoff game (a mix of Wild Card and Divisional games depending on if they earned a bye that year), they give up an average of 17.6 points per game. So Spags' defense consistently gives up almost a full touchdown less by the time the playoffs start compared to where they are to start the season.

The defensive performance on Friday wasn't good enough. That is true, and it is absolutely fair to criticize everything from the game plan to the execution, but Steve Spagnuolo's track record has also earned him some patience. Former Chief Justin Reid reminded fans of this after the game. There is a reason that "In Spags We Trust" has been a mantra for the Chiefs’ defense, and fans should keep that in mind before they get too worked up after a Week One loss.