Time to give the improved Kansas City Chiefs defense its due

Back to February. In the Kansas City Chiefs’ 38-35 Super Bowl LVII victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at Glendale, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive unit gave up 417 total yards and four offensive touchdowns.

Yes, that was a win. Andy Reid’s team is winning again. After stubbing their toe at home in the Thursday night season opener against the Lions, Kansas City has run off three straight wins. With the exception of the 41-10 rout of the Bears in Week 3, the Chiefs’ offense has yet to look like…the Chiefs’ offense.

Back to the Chiefs’ defense, one that looked less-than-imposing in February against the Eagles. This season, the Chiefs are allowing just 294.5 total yards per game and have surrendered only five offensive touchdowns in four contests.

The seeds for this current unit, led by defensive tackle Chris Jones (who missed the Week 1 contest vs. the Lions), were planted during the 2022 offseason. On Sunday night, four members of the team’s 2022 draft class (defensive end George Karlaftis, linebacker Leo Chenal and defensive backs Trent McDuffie and Bryan Cook) were in the defense’s starting lineup.

Linebacker Drue Tranquill, an offseason pickup from the Chargers, led the team with eight tackles and came up with a forced fumble in place of injured Nick Bolton.