The Kansas City Chiefs find themselves as 1.5 point underdogs heading into the Super Bowl despite having much more postseason experience, and arguably the best quarterback in the league on their roster. In the few times this season that the Cheifs have had lapses, it often came as a result of their defense underperforming. With their season and Super Bowl dreams on the line this week, they will have to step up in a big way to make this a winnable game for their offense. With Philadelphia having one of the best defenses in the league, if Kansas City’s defense cannot step up, it could mean dire things for them. We will break down how the Chiefs’ defense has performed through the regular season, playoffs, and how they stack up against the Eagles’ offense.
Kansas City Chiefs Regular Season Defensive Performance
Through the regular season, the Cheifs ranked 19th in passing yards allowed per game, 6th in passing yards allowed per attempt, 22nd in opponent completion percentage, last in passing touchdowns allowed, T-23 in interceptions, 2nd in sacks, 8th in rushing yards allowed, 18th in yards per carry allowed, and T-5 in rushing touchdowns allowed.
With most of the cap space on the Chiefs’ roster going to the offense, it makes sense Kansas City ranks in the bottom half of the league for around half of the major statistical categories. Along with this, with the team having such a high scoring offense, it makes it even more difficult to keep opposing teams off of the board.
How Have They Stacked Up In the Playoffs?
Through the postseason, the defense has held a relatively steady level of play when compared to their regular season performance. While they are not losing the Chiefs games by any means, they also are not doing too much to help the team either. In the postseason, Kansas City ranks 5th in total yards per game allowed, 8th in rushing yards per game allowed, last in rushing yards per play, 6th in passing yards per game, 2nd in sacks, and 4th in points allowed per game. While the Chiefs have had one of the better performing defensive units through the postseason, they still will have to find one last gear before the Super Bowl to guarantee a victory.
Can They Stop an Offense Like Philadelphia’s?
As previously mentioned, Philadelphia has been the team to beat all season. They are elite on both sides of the ball, and have taken dominant wins over some of the leagues top teams. Kansas City’s rush defense is very concerning. They are currently giving up 6.0 yards per carry in the postseason. With Miles Sanders finding his footing this season paired with Jalen Hurts being dangerous on the ground, this could be a recipe for disaster for the Chiefs. However, if Mahomes and the offense is able to get things going and set the pace of the game, Philadelphia may miss out on the chance of implementing the rushing attack as frequently as they have through their postseason run up to this point.
