AFC West: Biggest question for each team in 2020
Kansas City Chiefs: Can the defense pick up where it left off late last season?
In 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs scored an impressive 565 points – the third-highest single-season total in NFL history. But Andy Reid’s club also surrendered 421 points and that lack of defense really came back to bite them in the AFC title game overtime loss at home to the New England Patriots.
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It may surprise some people to know that a year ago the eventual Super Bowl champions allowed just 308 points this past season, a considerable improvement from the previous year.
And a lot of that progress came after the team’s 6-4 start in which the club allowed 239 points and 28 offensive touchdowns in those first 10 contests. Including the club’s three-game postseason sweep of the Texans, Titans and 49ers, Reid’s squad surrendered just 144 points and 15 offensive touchdowns.
Last offseason, the team addressed the defense in a big way and it paid off. This year, the team added depth in the form of defensive end Taco Charlton and cornerback Antonio Hamilton. But the Chiefs still need to find a way to get franchised defensive tackle Chris Jones (who has not signed his tender, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport) under contract sooner than later.
In any case, this group came into its own after a few months and may be capable of bigger things.